Second Chance
by TheMultipleMeExperience
Summary: Lenka was gifted with everything yet she knew that her life soon would take a turn to the worse. After being the victim of an assassination attempt she found herself in the space between London and another dimension, where she was told she could get a second chance to fulfill her wish... *contains spoilers and mature content later on*
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **First thing for you to know that I only own my OC's and the pictures I post! _Magi_ is the work of Ohtaka Shinobu, may there be more volumes and an end before she reaches 700 chapters! Anyway, the original plot and the characters belong to her and it's great she shared _Magi_ with us.**

 **Second, my main OC speaks with British accent while I use a kind of American English, so those are no grammar mistakes but intentionally done.**

 **Third, for those who haven't read that far: this work will contain spoilers.**

 **Fourth, and references to other manga, games, songs, books, goods you use in daily life etc. They will be set _italic_ so you can sort them out. I do not advertise them, it's just that my OC and I are kind of nerdy.**

 **Even so, please have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Second chance

Day 1 Meeting my first djinn

"How dare you!"

That stupid smartphone had no reception in underground tunnels. Lenka whined and shook the device furiously. She had taken a peek at the raws of _Magi_ Chapter 260 for fun just to see the first page showing her favorite villain – and then the site had no connection to the server anymore. Maybe it was a sign of god for her to stop being obsessed with manga and anime and gaming. Or maybe it was just the imbecile tunnel under London.

Her long blonde hair was tied into low twintails with three different colored scrunchies on each side and a creme-white bobble-beanie with two red badges sat loosely on her head. The bobble shook as Lenka tilted her head to stare at the device more intense.

"Please do what I order you to do, you stupid phone. I even watched the Japanese anime to hear his name pronounced right. Please let me read further, I want to know if he dies or not."

The elderly lady that sat opposite of her gave Lenka a strange look before she stood up and sat down a few meters away from her.

"That's rude, Ma'am," Lenka smiled at the other woman then she continued to torture her phone.

The subway stopped, the doors opened, people swarmed outside and even more into the carriage. A redheaded girl in a black trench coat and red Doc Martens sat down on the empty seat across from Lenka. Her cheeks were flushed pink after standing outside in the cold air for so long.

"Morning Topaz. How long did you play yesterday? You look tired. It really is bloody cold for February."

Lenka shook a streak of blonde hair out of her eyes and glared at the other girl.

"I do not look tired, Micaela. I played until eleven o'clock, that's not night yet."

Micaela chuckled and played with her lip piercing.

" _Skyrim_ , wasn't it? What's the matter with your phone? Did it crack?"

Lenka shook her head and put it in her bag.

"I surfed the net and the stupid tunnel made it loose connection to the server. I have got my charger with me, so I will to load it during the lesson. So, what's more important," Lenka leaned forward, Micaela did as well, "My father wants to marry me off."

"He wants to do what?" shrieked the redhead and Lenka flinched backwards while other passengers stared at the couple and started to murmur. Yet this wasn't a reason for Micaela to lower her voice.

"This is not eighteen hundred and so on, he can't do as he pleases! You're eighteen already, nineteen in a few months, aren't you?!"

Lenka nodded furiously.

"I know, I came home yesterday and he called me into the office and that woman, you know, my stepmother, was there too. I just heard him say blah blah blah noblesse oblige blah blah stop studying blah blah blah old enough blah blah going to marry. And then he told me I had to meet the first candidate this evening! That was like - bang! And now it feels like my life is kind of over, you know?"

Micaela sharply sucked her breath in and scowled.

"What has he against you studying medicine, my ass? You didn't even have to wait a semester! What does he want from you? Plus, don't you have a boyfriend, haven't you?"

Lenka shrugged and started to play with her scarf.

"Obviously me marrying a rich guy and giving birth to the future heir of the company. And no, no longer. Cal dumped me. Yesterday. Via SMS."

"That is really greedy and incredibly dumb. Blockheads, both your father and Cal. Don't worry, Topaz," the friend grabbed her hand, eyes sparkling. "You can move in for living with me in my flat anytime! Or we could move to New Zealand or Alaska and make a living there!"

"You would abuse me with making me wear your self-made outfits, Ruby-style," Lenka agitated. Micaela pouted.

"That's so not true! I've won a competition with that turquoise dress! You're wearing the wooly hat I made as a present for you for last Christmas!"

The blonde stood up and stretched. The long green pullover skidded upwards to reveal the jeans skirt Lenka wore underneath. Micaela sighed envious.

"I'd hang you up for that jacket. And those shoes."

Grinning Lenka inspected her new high-top sneakers and brushed imaginary dust off the short black jacket. She gripped her backpack tighter and stepped to the door.

"Let's get going, Ruby. We will be able to get some coffee before the lessons start."

"That sounds great to me."

The doors opened when reaching the next station and the young women were swept outside the carriage. Going with the flow of the commuters leaving the station they took the long escalator upwards to the surface. Micaela was still riled up. Her agitation made Lenka smile. Both of them were friends since kindergarten and hadn't lost contact since then, even though they went to different high schools and had different courses in university right now; Micaela studied fashion design. So they still used the code names they had for each other since childhood. She had been her support, in good times and in not so good times.

"Lenny."

Lenka looked down to her friend.

"I said that we should consider you traveling to Japan and searching for the dimensional witch's shop," Micaela said with serious voice. Lenka cracked a smile as she saw the reference to _xxxHolic_.

"Darling, that is not reality. It's fiction," she said with a soft voice.

"This is not," a male voice answered from a step higher. Lenka received a strong push in the back that made her stumble forward. Someone pushed her legs up and Lenka felt cold air on her face as she lost contact to her footing. The floor raced towards her or she raced towards the floor and the last thing she was able to notice was Micaela screaming her name. And then everything went black.

* * *

Lenka was floating in darkness when she woke up. Was she dead? Please not, she thought.

"I don't want to be dead! _OnePiece_ still isn't finished and _Magi_ as well! I wanted to start reading _Bleach_ and finish _Skyrim_ 's main campaign! I haven't seen my siblings grow up and Mica opening the fashion week! I don't want to die!"

 _Wake up, child,_ a soft voice susurrated. _Start your new life protecting the light._

She groaned and raised an eyelid. There was something shiny floating before her. Lenka sat up so fast she nearly lost her beanie. The floating thing was a glowing bird's figure.

"Is this... Rukh?" she whispered with amazement.

 _Stretch out your hand. Accept my request,_ the voice continued. It seemed to be male to Lenka's ears and she thought of having a guess.

"King Solomon?"

More Rukh appeared and started to flutter around her. Lenka swallowed and stretched a hand out to touch them. The white birds landed on her fingers, her sleeves; their touch was warm and friendly and reminded her of her mother's touch. A tingly sensation shot through her body; a burst of energy. Memories stared to pop up in her mind and some of them weren't her own. The voice chuckled.

 _You are loved by them but not a chosen one protected by them. Change destiny to the light's favor and see your wish granted. Protect the ones choosing kings, my warrior._

"Wish? Wait! Hey!"

Lenka jumped forward against something hard that gave in when she hit it and she stumbled from the darkness into a vast room. A room she was somehow familiar with. At least she had seen it before. Her jaw dropped.

"Holy fucking shit. The sacred palace."

She threw her hands up in amazement.

"Tell me I'm dreaming. Am I really fucking standing in the sacred palace..."

"You do," an amused voice confirmed.

Lenka swirled around to see a huge blue giant sitting atop of a stair. He wore only a loincloth and was kind of handsome. And she knew his face.

"This... Oh my god. You're Ugo, aren't you? And you still have a body. Is Aladdin here? Or did you send him off already? I can't believe it," she shook her head in disbelief, then took a few steps and kicked a pillar with her instep. The pillar cracked and Lenka yelped.

"Goddammit! That bloody hurt!" she hissed. Then her face brightened up and she turned back to the djinn.

"It's reality! Or I'm drugged really well! Great!"

Ugo smiled gently yet a bit afflicted.

"This is reality, so please refrain from damaging this pillar any further. King Solomon's will and the Rukh brought you here, dimension traveler, to have you and your knowledge helping Aladdin and the other Magi to prevent the downfall of this world."

Lenka stared at him with saucer-eyes.

"I'm really here and hearing this. That's so unbelievable."

She shook her head really fast, then remembered the wooly hat she was wearing and tugged it back in the right place.

"Do I have to conquer dungeons? Can I conquer dungeons? As an alien, I mean."

The djinn nodded.

"I expect you to do so. Even if you call yourself 'alien' the quantity and purity of your _magoi_ rivals that of a high-ranked magician of this world. Feel free to capture as many dungeons as you can."

"Yes!" Lenka pushed her fist up. "Conquering dungeons and beating evil people up! I'll love this world! So," she tilted her head. "Where can I finds the exit please?"

Ugo seemed to be amused of her joyful outburst.

"I will send you into a dungeon right away. That one seems to be appropriate. I wish you well."

She gave him her brightest smile just to see his face blush a bit.

"Thank you, Ugo. I hope we will meet again."

"Two things are to mention before you will leave the sacred place. First, you have been reborn without loosing your old body and have therefore obtained wisdom."

Lenka swallowed.

"Solomon's …?"

The blue giant raised a corner of his mouth.

"And the second: please look after Aladdin for a bit. He's a stranger in this world as well and I'm a kind of... worried about him."

"Don't worry, my brother is about the same age; plus, I'm good with children," she nodded. Ugo raised this hands and Rukh started to pour in from every corner of the room. They filled Lenka's field of vision until everything was white.

"Good luck with your first dungeon, dimension traveler Lenka."

It was hot. Lenka opened her eyes and immediately started to pull off her vest, scarf and pullover. She stuffed everything into her backpack while carefully observing her surroundings. Apparently she was at the end of a dark cavern, but after reading and watching the _Magi_ series she knew that dungeons came in every kind of form. She heaved up the bag to close it while walking and strapped it to her back. God bless those skateboards-wear designers. Their products were big and good for stuffing things. And bless Solomon for letting her keep her personal belongings.

Lenka walked for nearly twenty minutes until she arrived in the first big cavern. Two basins filled with strange white and blue flames filled the room with light. Multiple door frames covered the wall on the other side. A stone board with strange symbols stood in the center. Lenka walked up to the monument. She was sure she wouldn't be able to read toran language but she knew her arithmetic.

The cavern was shaped like a half circle up on a equilateral triangle, like a wafer; she turned up from the tip of the triangle, point A, that was on the same line as the stone board, point M like middle. The triangles other points B and C were where the fire bowls were located. They produced light. The stone block produced shade. Lenka walked around the monument, then ran back to make a photo of the inscription; toran inscriptions could be very useful if she ever had the misfortune to meet certain characters of the known _Magi_ universe.

Lenka took the only door fame right behind the stone block following line g that divided the room into symmetric counterparts; and that was the correct one. The inscription she was unable to read had said: _there is a narrow path between true and false, black and white, good and evil. The light might deceive you and so does the darkness._

Her new path led her down further into the dungeon and grew hotter with every meter she descended. Soon she reached the next cavern. It was a burning tar pit. The whole cave was filled with white and blue flames that burned on each side of a small path. Another toran table stood in front of her; the inscription was pictured as well. Lenka sighed.

"I'm sure you want to test how brave I am, because the other should test logic thinking," she told the dungeon while tying her hair up in a high ponytail, then pulled her scarf out of the bag and tied it like a mask over her nose. Prepared like this she stepped on the path.

Hot. Hothothothot. Lenka started to run. Years of training martial arts, ballet and rhythmic gymnastic had made her fast and raised her stamina to nearly unknown heights. She zigzagged through the sea of fire until she was breathless. She continued to run. Stopping would mean smoke poisoning. Stopping would mean defeat. Stopping would mean surrendering to the hellish fire of the dungeon. Death. Lenka hated defeat. Being useless was the worst thing she could imagine. Unable to do something. She always thought she would resemble a manga hero if she followed her own codex. _Never surrender. Oaths once given shall never be broken. Choose your fate instead of letting someone else choose._

She would never die in a place like this.

Lenka burst through a cloud of smoke and raced into the next tunnel. Unable to stop she skidded forward until she met a wall. Feeling a slight breeze she pulled the scarf away and inhaled deeply. Coughing the girl sank down on her knees, unfastened her bagpack and crawled a few steps away to throw up into a corner. She had always hated the procedure of being physically sick, but knowing that her body used this to get rid of the poison and smoke particles she endured. After a while she wiped off her face with a clean spot of her scarf and threw it against the wall; it was ruined after protecting her face from the smoke. In her bag she found her full pink one and a half liter _Tupperware_ bottle and drank a few gulps. Then she continued walking.

Slowly the tunnel changed. It didn't look like a cave anymore but rather as if it was made from red bricks. Other tunnels joined hers and made it bigger; when she looked into one of them she saw the skeleton of something... really nasty. At least there were no fire skeletons, she would really have to improvise to kill fire skeletons. Not for the first time in her life she thanked her mother for having her train tae kwon do, judo and fencing. She had done ballet and rhythmic gymnastic for almost fourteen years now, the other for twelve, but she nevertheless had mastered all of them. Like a good daughter of the Sensenmacher household she had endured hellish training to become the perfect heir to the company... perfect heir... Why did she remember this now?

Lenka stopped and turned around. She had walked into the next bigger room. It was very high, fire bowls enlightened the bricks. Lenka sighed and pulled her phone out of her skirts pocket to take a photo of the next inscription. Surprised she put down the device. She was able to read what this one was saying!

"Tell the truth to show your dignity."

Lenka frowned. Should that mean she had to tell verity every time she encountered someone in this dungeon? She shook her head and read out further.

"What is your wish?"

She gave the stone a light headbutt.

"Seriously? And I feared you would have me telling my darkest memories here! Idiot me for not reading the text fully at first!"

Taking a step back the girl exhaled slowly to calm down.

"I don't know if I have a particular wish right now. I'm just doing King Solomon a favor. Or rather I would have done everything he wanted me to do to escape the future that might await me back in my world, so, yeah, I do what he wants me to do and save this world I reckon. Maybe my wish is to become strong enough to oppose my father and protect my siblings or fall in love with someone who truly loves me and have a really nice family when I'm older or-"

The ground began to move and a stone staircase up to the next level appeared.

"Did you do this to tell me to stop talking? You should have kept me silent from the beginning if I annoy you," she complained while climbing upwards. Lenka opened the door she found a few steps behind the stairs and stepped into bright light.

Lenka lost track of time. She wasn't able to say how many hours she had spent walking through the dungeon's necropolis, the empty city, after she had finally passed the main dungeon. Luckily she had managed to keep her clothes intact and nearly clean. They smelled just a little as if she had been too near to a fire. Actually the dungeon had been really soft on her, as if the djinn wanted her to clear it. Or Ugo or Solomon had their fingers in the play. Lost in her thoughts she nearly passed by the giant golden door with the jewel inlay and the eight-pointed star until she realized what that meant and hurried back.

"Okay," she said to the door, "I know that I have to say the right word for you to open. I just can't remember what it was. Let's be friendly: please open up."

Nothing happened.

"Please."

" _Alohomora_."

" _Aperite porta_."

That started to annoy her.

" _Mellorn_."

"I don't know the true name of my soul and I don't want to open the door with blood like they did in _Harry Potter_! I'm Marlene-Karen Sensenmacher and I live in London, for Fuck's sake!"

Lenka felt anger boiling in her blood. She was really pissed off now.

"Stupid magic door! Stupid me! Forgetting the code word!"

She kicked the door but that did nothing more than making her foot hurt.

"Stupid Arabic manga adaption! … Wait. Arabic. One thousand and one nights."

A grin appeared on her face. She had found the answer.

"Open sesame," she demanded. The door opened slowly. Lenka huffed and stepped into the treasure room.

Gold. Jewels. Swords made from gold and jewels. Lenka feared her eyes would pop out any second. She knew what it meant to be rich. But this treasure was like... wow. Dazzling. She felt a mad giggle rise in her throat but suppressed it; she had to find her djinn first. Lenka turned her head until she saw the stone table on the plateau in the middle of the room and hurried to it. A massive necklace made of gold and platinum with a golden jewel pendant laid on it. The yellow gemstone had the symbol of the eight pointed star on the surface. Lenka swallowed. No turning back now. She reached out and touched the necklace.

An explosion shook the treasure room. After years of training the girl instinctively did a back flip and landed in defensive position, ready to attack.

"WHO IS THE ONE WHO WILL BECOME KING?" a male voice boomed. The djinn was a warrior, that Lenka could see, even though he wore one of that strange stole-like flying cloth things. At least it was on fire on the ends, so it didn't look feminine but rather magical. His torso was bare except for the golden chains that fell down from the horns that grew out of his white spiky hair. His face was really hot, ha ha, pun, his expression a mixture of happiness and dignity. He seemed to be younger than Lenka, around seventeen, but looks were misleading. And freckles as well.

"Ah. It's you. I am the fifty-fifth djinn, Orobas, a spirit of faithfulness and truth, often described as incense. And you will be King."

"Queen," Lenka deadpanned. "I'm a girl. Say, can I really keep all that treasure?"

Orobas stared at Lenka with big eyes while she started to collect gems and stuffed them into her wooly hat. Then he shrank to a size where he was five times larger than her.

"You should be thankful I chose you," he demanded. Lenka turned, walked up to him and petted his big blue hand.

"Thank you for choosing me, Orobas," she smiled. "I am Lenka, actually Marlene-Karen. I'm from another dimension, King Solomon took me here because I was going to die and he seemed to want me protect his Magi and change destiny and stuff. But I know nothing about life, especially living here," she trailed off to inspect a piece of white cloth hanging from a marble statue's arm. "All I have been doing in my world was gaming and reading and shipping."

Orobas blinked.

"Knowing how to navigate a ship is more than other people can do."

Lenka dropped the cloth that unfolded and floated at the height of her belly.

"Not that kind of shipping, but, hey, a magic flying scarf! Lucky me! Stay put, will you?"

She started to pile bags of jewels and gold coins on the fabric while talking to the djinn.

"So, I'm still clueless of what to do. You can give me a hint, can't you? And as my djinn and a spirit of faithfulness you won't lie, isn't that so?"

Orobas pouted.

"Of course I won't lie to my queen or betray her! You shall find a kingdom and destroy the evil of this world!"

"Does this 'evil' has names? Like, particular guys who deserve a good beating or the usual seven sins stuff like envy, hunger, discrimination and sexual harassment? Names please, Orobas," Lenka demanded. The djinn looked pleased. This queen was straight-forward and strong-willed as well as honest and caring, as far as he could assume. A good candidate. A pure vessel.

"The evil organization Al-Thamen. They are mages and warriors fallen into depravity. They want the world to fall as well."

Lenka stared at Orobas for a second then shrugged. He really did tell her the truth, even though she knew everything about this already.

"Okay. You know that I knew this already, did you?"

"I thought so. Your intention of checking how trustful I am being was pretty obvious."

The girl hived another bag of treasure on the flying device.

"Okay then. Al-Thamen. Let's destroy an evil organization. Have they, you know, a kind of emblem or shady bandage with dubious symbol around their arms to show that they belong to Al-Thamen?"

"They do look suspicious," the djinn nodded eagerly. "And their Rukh is black and impure. And they will fight you."

Lenka followed a white Rukh fluttering by with her eyes and poked it. Tingly energy filled her arm.

"How luck I can see Rukh. Okay, let's go kick their impure butts then!"

"Wait, my queen!" Orobas pointed at the necklace. "You need to have a metal vessel so I can travel everywhere with you. If you touch it the dungeon will crumble, though."

"Are you serious? Oi, magic flying scarf, come here, come to mommy!"

The cloth floated to her side, heavily loaded with treasure. The girl hopped on it and sat down on the makeshift seat she had piled.

"Move forward to the necklace please."

Lenka grabbed the jewelry as the magic device was near enough. Instantly the walls began to crumble and Orobas disappeared. A transfer magic circle appeared underneath Lenka's makeshift flying throne and a portal sucked her up. Lenka sighed and ordered the cloth to land on the magic floor. The dungeon grew smaller under her feet while she flew through the dimension. Then she opened the fastener of the necklace, hung it around her neck and hid it under her top. The golden jewel with the eight-pointed star, warm and humming with power, dangled between her breasts now and she could have sworn she heard a pleased sigh.

"Maybe I am imagining things," she mumbled darkly but her eyes sparkled. She had conquered her first dungeon! Lenka had never imagined such a thrill was possible. The danger, the adventure... Dungeon diving had to be considered more dangerous than any other drug.

"When we arrive at the other world we will start training djinn equip! That is going to be fun!"

Then she heard a clinking noise and turned towards it.

"Oh dear."

Apparently the djinn trusted her enough to teleport all of the dungeon's treasure with her. Lenka sighed and stood up to check what she had received.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! I'll upload the next chapter as soon as possible!**

 **For those who have wondered what Lenka told the door to the treasure room, _Alohomora_ is the unlocking spell from _Harry Potter_ , Aperite porta is Latin meaning 'Open the door' and _Mellorn_ is the password to Moria in _Lord of the Rings_ while the reference with 'the true name of my soul' belongs to _Eragon_.**

 **Nerd ahoy!**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **I just casually copied and re-edited the message from the first chapter, so**

 **Magi belongs to Ohtaka Shinobu, my OC's to me**

 **Lenka is British so she speaks with an accent *these are no spelling mistakes***

 **this work will contain spoilers for those who haven't read _Magi_ that far**

 **and maybe references to other manga, books, games, songs, devices of this world's daily life etc.**

 **I use the Character names as they are written in my home country's edition of _Magi_ so they might differ from those you are familiar with except *Aladdin's, I think his name looks cooler with double 'd' :] ***

 **Have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 2 Meeting the main characters

When the pillar of light disappeared and she found herself in a deep pit in the middle of the desert Lenka had expanded her attire with a silvery forearm armor decorated with a big sapphire for her right arm, two delicate golden rings around her right biceps and a sword that strongly resembled a katana, she really wondered how this landed here, which Orobas told her would never break and could be a possible metal vessel as well. She had two daggers hidden in her bag together with her wooly hat in which she had stuffed all diamonds she could find in the pile of treasure and then tied her scrunchies around the opening to prevent the stones from disappearing in the depths of her luggage.

During that time Lenka had checked her bagpack as well and had found a lot more than she had expected; she had not only her bottle of water, a new writing pad, a book about anatomy, her pencil case and phone charger but a traveling toothbrush, a first aid mini-kit, a deo spray, chewing gum, her beauty case, a second set of underwear, three different new packs of o.b., a lighter and earplugs for her phone as well. She couldn't imagine her packing a traveling toothbrush so she imagined it was a kind of transfer magic – or Solomon had packed for her. What she not hoped. For his sake.

Now Lenka sat on her flying scarf which was a lot bigger and sturdier than she thought – apparently it enlarged when needed – and flew in the direction where she believed a city could be. Orobas told her that his dungeon was located in the desert eastern of a city called Qishan; with his help she was able to find out where west was as well. After a while she saw caravan streets and decided to follow them, remembering that Qishan was the town where Amon's dungeon was located. Half an hour later Lenka arrived over the city and following the Rukh's movement she chose a save place to land, grabbed two sacks filled with treasure, ordered the scarf to hover over the streets and walked to the hotel she had in mind.

The porter looked at her with big eyes when Lenka appeared at the reception, her blonde hair, tall figure and foreign clothes mixed with metal jewelry, but caught himself very fast.

"Good morning, Miss. What can I do for you?"

Lenka gave him her brightest smile which caused his ears to turn red.

"I need a room for, let's say, up to five days and some information about the city, for example where I can buy a map, food and clothes for longer travels please. I can pay so you don't have to worry."

The porter smiled.

"Of course. Please pay in beforehand."

The girl shrugged and heaved a bag with treasure on his desk.

"I am a traveller and don't know this town's currency, but I reckon this is enough."

The porter opened the bag, took a quick glance and decided to call the manager.

The hotel's manager was nearly delirious with joy after Lenka told him that she had not stolen the treasure but conquered a dungeon recently. The room she was taken to was nearly as big as her old one back home, had a bed twice the size as hers and a magnificent view over Qishan. As soon as she was alone Lenka had opened the window and to let her full-packed scarf in. The treasure was hidden under the bed before she took a really nice bath and had a opulent meal. The hotel had given her a beautiful dress and shoes in exchange for a handful of jewels; thus newly dressed Lenka discovered the city, Orobas hidden under her flying scarf she wore as shawl now.

Her first stop was a small bookshop which location she was told by the porter. A bell rang when she entered, the air smelled of parchment and ink. The owner was a scrawny man in his late fifties in the typical clothing of the _Magi_ desert world.

"Good day," Lenka greeted. "Do you sell maps as well?"

"These are not cheap."

"I can pay. Can you show me one of this continent and tell me where I am right now please?"

The owner raised a white bushy eyebrow.

"You are in Qishan, girl."

Lenka gave him a apologetic smile and decided to tell him the excuse she had invented with her djinn's help.

"I am from Reim and had the misfortune to stumble into a dungeon. After I cleared it I was here in Qishan. I have absolutely no idea how far away the next port is and I was told I could buy a map here."

She had seen this expression of astonishment on almost everyone who she had told she was a dungeon capturer.

"A girl? Clearing a dungeon? You have to be very tough." Then the man turned around and pulled a scroll out of the shelf behind him. Lenka leaned forward as he unrolled it on the desk and pointed on a point on it.

"Qishan is here."

His finger pointed on the continent far west.

"Reim is here."

Lenka shrugged.

"Oh dear. Well, I decided to go to Balbadd to take a ship back home. Can you please show me a map depicting the distance from Qishan to Balbadd?"

"I can, but you have to know that the road is blocked at the moment. Thieves and slave traders haunt the desert you need to cross."

"Well, if it is just thieves and slave traders and not a Kou army I will be quite save I think."

In the end Lenka bought both maps and gave the surprised owner more than he demanded.

"For your family. Please live happy and don't curse your fate," she wished before she left the shop.

 _That was very nice of you, my queen,_ Orobas said in her mind. Lenka thought this kind of communication was as if he was phoning her and she just had to think her answer or mumble it.

"He deserved it. So, let's go buy my new outfit."

 _I like buying things with you,_ the djinn admitted. _Especially clothes. They suit you._

Lenka stood at her room's window and watched the sun sinking. The recommended tailoring shop was near the bazaar so she had decided to take a stroll around afterward and bought some meat buns. Munching one she agreed to her new friend. She had chatted with the owner who hat given her one for free after she had praised his food.

"I thought it was fun too."

When she had opened the door to the clothing shop the tailor had sewn silvery-gray pants, baggy-style.

"Hello," Lenka had greeted.

"I need a new attire suited for long-distance traveling please. I'd prefer pants or short skirts."

The dressmaker had shown her a tight short-sleeved blue blouse leaving her stomach free that she could wear without a bra and a brown vest with white and blue ornaments with which Lenka immediately had fallen in love with - but the pants had been a problem.

"These are too baggy as well."

Lenka had glanced at the gray pants on the working desk and pointed at them.

"Do you make them for a certain customer?"

The tailor had shaken her head.

"Not at the moment. They are nearly finished, though."

Lenka had taken her phone out and showed her a picture.

"Can't you make them more like this, can't you?" she had asked with big puppy eyes. The tailor stared at the smartphone with amazement.

"Unbelievable. What is this? There is a human in it."

"It's a magical item from my home. This is fashion where I come from," Lenka had swindled.

"Can you do this please?"

"Sure thing. When do you want it finished?"

"As fast as possible. Latest in two days," she had said and had given the tailor the second bag she was carrying right now.

"Thank you very much. Please take this as a reward. Don't worry, it is part of my dungeon treasure. Use it well, will you?"

Lenka had shown her other pictures of London's fashion as well to make sure her business would flourish later in her life too.

The djinn gave Lenka a mental hug.

 _I am glad I chose you, my queen._

 _Can you please call me Lenka? It does sound more familiar and I need a friend right now more than a follower._

Lenka saw a mental image of Orobas grinning brightly.

 _As you wish, Lenka! Yet as a friend can I ask why do share the treasure with all these people?_

She sighed and fiddled with the biceps rings.

"I just... My mother told me that I should try to make people happy through my actions. I cherish her teachings. They helped me in darker times. Doing good things... It's like raising a shield around me, you know? As long as I can smile when meeting someone new they are less likely to attack me."

 _I think I understand what you mean. By the way, what are your plans now? What will you do?_

Glad that the djinn changed topics Lenka started to tell him her intentions.

* * *

Three days later Lenka left Qishan on her flying scarf, wearing her new clothes. The pants fit perfectly and she felt like a completely new person right now. Her old clothes were stored in a second bag with more water and food. Following the street to Balbadd she talked to Orobas during the flight and trained her djinn weapon equip during the whole day. On the evening she tried to manage a full-body equip before going to sleep. Luckily she had enough _magoi_ and food with her, plus the Rukh would her a bit of energy if she asked them. Oddly enough they would give her some yet she didn't mind their help.

Orobas was a fire djinn, so Lenka had to find a way fighting with him while not burning herself. When she wrapped the necklace around her arm, the jewel in her palm she was able to fire a column of white and blue flames at her enemy; mostly clouds and rocks at the moment. She didn't roast her fingers like that, but it had been better if the djinn had settled in her sword instead. One day after training she had asked the spirit if he could move to the sword instead - he sulked for two hours before the girl was able to calm him down. This day she did successfully weapon-equip a large saber that seemed to be made of some sort of blue crystal, so she was sure that it was some sort of an apology. Djinn were strange.

After four days of flying she arrived at an oasis city. The inhabitants were running around hectically preparing camels and carrying weapons. Lenka decided to land behind a once white building, hung the scarf around her shoulders and walked up to a tanned man with a white mustache and beard who she remembered being the owner of the caravan that took Morgiana in after the Amon-dungeon diving.

"Excuse me, but what is with this uproar? Did someone went missing?"

The man turned around to see who asked him and frowned at Lenka's still unusual clothing.

"A girl seemed to had attacked the thieves hideout. They were blocking the road to Balbadd and she secretly sneaked out. We're going to attack their hideout now."

Lenka gave him an endearing smile.

"Can I accompany you? I'm very skilled in fighting."

The man examined her again, saw the sword, the armor and made his decision. Lenka saw the change in his eyes as he nodded.

"Of course. Help is always welcome. Get a camel and wait for the signal."

"Okay, thank you very much," the girl said and walked toward the stable.

The light in the stable was kind of dim and air was dusty from the sand but Lenka still saw the two girls that were trying to sneak away with a camel. One of them, the tanned with the dark hair glanced at Lenka, then gave her friend a signal. The light-haired with short hair looked up and shot the newcomer a nasty glare.

"If the owner sends you to make sure we'd stay at the inn you can buzz off. We will go as well."

The dungeon capturer shook her head and pressed a finger on her lips, grinning brightly.

"I won't," she said,"I think it is great that you are so fired up to save your friend. Can I pick any camel as long as it isn't taken?"

The unfriendly wanted to answer but the tanned girl interrupted her.

"Leila... I think she won't tell my father. She seems to be nice."

The other girl frowned.

"Sahsa," she mumbled then gave Lenka another displeased look.

"Pick any you like. They spit."

Then the two disappeared in the shade of the stable.

 _Can't we use the scarf? These animals stink,_ Orobas complained.

 _I don't want them to find out that I am a dungeon capturer now,_ she answered and held her hand out to a camel with white spot under one eye. As she touched the animal she sent a bit of her Rukh as well. The camel blinked and leaned forward to get scratched a bit more.

"There, I'm friendly. Will you be a good one and carry me, will you?" she cooed as she picked up the rein, took a saddle and led the camel out of the stable. There she placed the saddle between the two humps, lashed it an climbed up.

 _This will be no fun ride. Will sway. Run in the wrong direction. No horse. Stinks._

 _Shut it you whiny djinn._

The caravan's owner had mounted as well. To his left side was a bulky man with white bandages around his bare chest and a strange animal on the shoulder.

"Let's go, folks!" he bellowed and hurried his camel.

The whole squad started to ride out of the city into the desert. Lenka had less problems with the unconversant mount as Orobas had imagined. After a while she found herself next to the two girls, Leila and Sahsa, who shared a camel. Sahsa gave her a worried smile; Lenka grinned to courage her.

"Don't worry, everything will have ended before we will arrive at their hideout."

Leila snorted and pressed her camel while Sahsa's expression brightened up.

"As if."

The foreigner laughed.

"The future is already written, trust me."

"How can you be so sure?" Sahsa asked. Lenka stroke her bangs out of her eyes.

"I read a few books."

Soon the hideout came into sight, a huge cylindrical building entirely made of stone; a real fortress. Lenka squinted her eyes. People were running away from the hideout in their direction. They were obviously in panic. She smirked. Everything went as shown in the manga; the owner of the caravan stopped his camel to ask one of the slave traders what had happened when the huge blue body of Ugo climbed over the wall of the fortress. Lenka stopped her mount and jumped off as well.

"Here they come, Orobas."

The freed humans flowed out of the building, friends, families were reunited. Lenka waited a few minutes before she approached Aladdin; the blue haired boy spoke with Leila, Sahsa, the caravan's owner, the man with the strange pet and Morgiana.

"Though we may be separated... those important people's spirits are by our side," she heard him saying. The red haired fanalis turned toward the slave traders' fortress.

Lenka felt a Rukh tugging on her vest and sneaked back to her camel. Now was not the time to talk to them.

* * *

The banquet was noisy. Everyone was having fun celebrating the rescue of the imprisoned with alcohol and delicious food. When Lenka saw that Aladdin, Morgiana and the other important people of this scene were sitting around a map of the road to Balbadd she placed her cup of wine down and trailed toward them.

"Alright! It's decided!" the small Magi beamed at his friend.

"Uhm... Excuse me," Lenka said and smiled at them. "I heard that you were going to Balbadd. That is my destination as well. Can I accompany you?"

The main characters turned their heads to look at her; Morgiana's glance was calm as always but showed slight concern. Aladdin's stare simply said _boobs!_

"Of course you can, Miss! Can't she?" he glanced at his friend. Mor shrugged and nodded.

"Thank you," Lenka said and a weight fell off her shoulders. Mission accomplished.

"Miss?" the Magi stared her bust. "You're boobs are glowing."

Lenka blinked, pulled her scarf off her neckline and her metal vessel out of her blouse. The pendant was glowing white and a line connected the eight-pointed star with the flute's.

"Miss! You're a dungeon capturer!" Aladdin cheered and reached out to touch the golden jewel. A bright light seemed to explode and the familiar white and blue flames shot to the stars. The caravan screamed in surprise as Orobas' giant blue body appeared over the plaza, humongous and glittering from the chains covering his body.

"WHO IS THE ONE WHO WILL BECOME KING?" the signature sentence sounded over the city. Lenka grinned as she saw up to her djinn. He had a talent for making a huge ruckus.

"I am Orobas, a djinn created from faithfulness and truth. And you are my queen, Lenka. Say, my dear, is that a Magi down there?"

The djinn bowed forward as Aladdin held out his flute and Ugo's headless body emerged.

"Hello old friend!" Orobas smiled brightly. "Thank you for the queen you send me! She's really great and generous and knows almost as much about the future as me and- huh. Uh-huh."

Ugo had started to wave his hands to talk to the other djinn that nodded in agreement. This act went on for a few minutes before the fire djinn shrank to a size three times as tall as his queen to hug her.

"She knows that already. She told me she would fight them to fulfill Solomon's wish and she will watch this boy as well. Don't worry, Lenka was doing great until now and we will have companions and her-"

"Please don't tell every secret now, Orobas," Lenka reached up and pinched the djinn's ear.

"Yowch. Okay, Lenka. As you wish."

She smiled with closed eyes at him.

"Then please stop groping and GO BACK INTO THE VESSEL."

With a _poof_ the djinn disappeared; Ugo did as well. Lenka sighed and turned towards Aladdin and the others.

"Sorry. His behaviour is kind of - WILL YOU GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF MY BOSOM, BOY!" Lenka screamed and plucked the blue-haired boy off her chest. Luckily her arm was long enough to keep him at a sufficient distance from her breasts. Being almost 1,75 meters tall was sometimes very fortunate. Aladdin's grin was really creepy.

"They are soft! And really big!" he gushed and wriggled in her grip to get closer to her. Lenka felt a vein on her forehead pulse. This was going to be not as easy as she had imagined.

* * *

 **And another chapter for you! He he. No references to explain this time, but a big thank you for reading! It will take a few days for the next chapter to be uploaded so be patient .**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **First thing for you to know that I only own my OC's and the pictures! _Magi_ is the work of Ohtaka Shinobu, may there be more volumes and an end before she reaches 700 chapters! Anyway, the original plot and the characters belong to her and it's great she shared _Magi_ with us.**

 **Second, my main OC speaks with British accent while I use a kind of American English, so those are no grammar mistakes but intentionally done.**

 **Third, for those who haven't read that far: this work will contain spoilers.**

 **Fourth, and references to other manga, games, songs, books etc. They will be set _italic_ so you can sort them out. I do not advertise them, it's just that my OC and I are kind of nerdy.**

 **Fifth, I use the Character names as they are written in my home country's edition of _Magi_ so they might differ from those you are familiar with * except Morgiana's nickname, Aladdin's and Sinbad's, I think their names looks better with double 'd' and without a 'd' :] ***

 **Have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 3 Meeting Sinbad

Five days later they left the caravan. Lenka had continued training her equipment during these days while the main characters were watching her, asking questions sometimes and cheering her on. She had talked with them and came to the conclusion that their journey together would be really pleasant. Morgiana was as calm and Aladdin as cheerful as she had read in the manga and a lot easier to handle than Lenka had feared at first, even though he sneaked under her blanket every evening to get cuddled. He remembered her of her little brother Henry while the other girl made her think of her sister Valerié, even though Val was a genius musician and Morgiana a born fighter; she had convinced the foreigner to show her some tae kwon do moves just to master them after an afternoon which Lenka thought was very impressive.

They winked at the caravan disappearing in a cloud of dust.

"Then, let's go!" the Magi said and turned towards the path trough the green forest. Morgiana and Lenka took the boy between them while they walked to keep him from tripping in his excitement. Aladdin raised his arms and smiled.

"From now on, please take care of me, Morgiana, Lenka!"

"Yes," answered the fanalis girl and Lenka simply nodded while adjusting her bag's straps.

"Hey," he said looking up to the redhead, "'Morgiana' is kinda long, so can I call you something else?"

"... whatever."

"Then 'Mor'," the boy smiled. Morgiana's face instantly darkened.

"That's no good?" Aladdin asked with big eyes and slightly trembling lower lip. Lenka chuckled and looked at the other girl.

"Lenka is a nickname as well. And I think 'Mor' does suit her, Aladdin, doesn't it?"

His face brightened.

"Really? So, what's your real name then, Lenka?"

"Marlene-Karen," the blonde sighed under his intense stare. "Please go with 'Lenka', though."

"I will," he cheered and Morgiana nodded, her expression slowly lighting up. Aladdin continued to chatter with Mor while Lenka had the feeling that it was almost time for a certain man to make his entry. She was either going to hit him or say something really fangirl-worthy or creep him out. _Probably the last thing_ , she thought. Orobas snickered at this thought and Lenka concentrated on the younger one's talk.

Mor was doing dogeza, the traditional Japanese kneeling apology gesture, at the moment and Aladdin tried to get her up again, saying "But I think it's the same for Alibaba, we don't need any praise."

"Alibaba seems to be a very good guy then," Lenka joined the conversation.

"Yep, I think Alibaba is a kind person! Ah- I really want to meet Alibaba soon..." the boy sighed. Mor smiled and pointed on the road.

"... We'll meet him if we follow this road."

"Yep. That's right!"

Lenka patted his head saying "That's the spirit, Aladdin. Think positive, everything is going to be alright."

 _That was mean. We know what will happen, don't we?_

 _We do, but I don't want him to be depressed right now. And be quiet for some seconds, I don't want to miss any second of what will happen soon._

Aladdin started to walk a bit faster, cheered on by his new friend's words. Mor did as well and Lenka started to smile, knowing what was going to occur.

They had been walking for a few minutes through the woods when someone stepped on the path, arms stretched out to block their way.

 _Oh my..._

Aladdin and Morgiana stopped instantly. Their expression was a mixture of confusion and disbelief as they stared at the naked man with the long purple braid standing on the road. Lenka bit on the insides of her mouth to not start laughing like a lunatic. This was too glorious. The man raised his right hand to greet them while smiling friendly at the travelers.

"Hey, you guys. Nice weather today."

 _He is really well build. How does he keep that leaf in this place without any string?_

 _Shall I ask him? I am curious as well._

 _That would scare him, Lenka. Please do._

The kids' faces started to turn shocked at the man's words and Aladdin stepped forward.

"Mor, this is bad! Stay back!" he screamed while the fanalis had switched to attacking stance in an instant. She was definitely the most dangerous one now.

"Leave this to me!"

"Huh? No, you're wrong! Listen to me!"

"Please tell me what you did to keep that leaf there."

"Lenka!"

"Thanks a lot for the clothes, Aladdin!"

"Mhm! Sorry for them being so small, though," the boy said apologetic. They had made a campfire and were now sitting on tree trunks Lenka and Mor had broken in the wood. The dungeon capturer had found a small creek so the girls had refilled their water canisters then cooked a kind of soup while Aladdin had given the man some of his clothes.

"My name is Sin," the now kind-of-clothed man introduced himself. "I'm a merchant and I'm heading to Balbadd."

Lenka grinned into her soup bowl while the others continued their chat. That king really was a lying so-and-so. And the clothing the boy had given him really did not cover more than before.

 _My body is as well-build as his, you know,_ Orobas complained.

 _I don't believe him saying that the only thing keeping the leaf at place was training,_ Lenka thought. _There has to be a trick. Glue or something._

 _Lenka, that kind of thought is not very appropriate. And eww, glue would be very... eww._

 _The rules and morals taught in my world are a bit different from the ones here. I talk about things bothering me. Plus I am already an adult. I'm eighteen and can have this kinds of thoughts and relationships including-_

 _Please stop, my queen. I don't want to hear about this,_ Orobas screamed and send her a mental image of him with the hands over his ears.

Lenka chuckled and stood up.

"Are we finished? Noon is already over and I don't want to spend the night outside in the wilderness."

Sin gave her a smile and apologized while she and Mor put the campfire out.

"We got a bit carried away with talking about adventures," the man said when they continued their travel to Balbadd. Aladdin who was walking next to his left leg grinned brightly and raised his arms.

"I know. I understand how you feel!"

Sin seemed to notice that the fanalis on his other side was looking down while she walked and stared at her for a few seconds. Mor who seemed to feel his gaze looked up to him and slightly tilted her head.

"Umm... What is it?" she asked with her calm voice. Sinbad blinked, then realized that he had been staring at her and smiled.

"I was just thinking about this meeting with two such lovely young ladies and how interesting this journey has been so far," he answered.

"I see..."

"This will get even more interesting, trust me," Lenka said and adjusted her bags a second time.

"Hey, are we there yet?" Aladdin asked the king undercover. Sin nodded and pointed along the road.

"Just over that hill, You'll be able to see the town."

Lenka started to run.

"The devil takes the hindmost!"

* * *

In the end Morgiana won the race but Lenka didn't mind. The view over the town and the crystal-clear sea was enough of compensation and when Sin led them trough the city gate telling background knowledge Lenka had almost forgotten what was going to happen in the near future. She walked next to the man now while the children ran in front of them, noticing or not noticing the beggars and starving citizens.

"The people. They are suffering so much," she mumbled in his direction. Sin nodded.

"Since the last king passed away the country has become disheveled."

"That's a nice way to say it's a messed-up situation that will end in anarchy sooner or later."

He stared at her in surprise.

"You are very pessimistic."

"I'm a realist and that this country is at the edge of collapsing should be clearly visible. I won't tell the children, though."

Sin smiled and placed a hand on her forearm.

"I agree in every point with you. Time to do something against this chaos."

Lenka nodded. Sin stopped in front of a huge building which facade remembered her of the renaissance style in Europe and smiled at the group.

"It's safe here. And I always stay at the country's best luxurious hotel!"

 _In this clothes_ , Orobas chuckled.

Morgiana started to fumble with her bag's straps.

"But, I'm worried about the costs... I worked at a caravan the past six months so I have money, but I don't have that much..."

"Me too," agreed Aladdin and Lenka said:

"I don't have that much left as well..."

"Don't worry about anything," Sin said and explained that he would come up for the costs. Lenka and the main characters thanked him and waited at the entrance. The foreigner watched the king in disguise walking through the foyer in his makeshift clothes like he owned the place and started the countdown.

"Hey you! You're suspicious!"

Guards stormed at Sin like wasps that found jam at the breakfast table.

"I should have paid him for this show," the dungeon capturer chuckled.

"Sin-sama! Where have you been up until now?"

Entry Ja'far and Masrur.

* * *

"This is your room," the maid said and opened the door.

Even Lenka was impressed about the feudal interior. It seemed like the room of a princess out of thousand and one nights.

"It's gorgeous!" Aladdin screamed and jumped on the bed and started to roll around while Morgiana checked the windows then opened them. Lenka threw her bag on a free bed to symbolize that this one was hers.

"It really is. This bed is mine and no complaints."

"If there's anything you don't understand please don't hesitate to ask," the maid said with a friendly smile.

Then Aladdin asked her about Alibaba and the plate the maid was holding fell on the floor. Fruit jumped through the room. Lenka quickly walked up to her to help her.

"Thank you, Miss. It's just that the name surprised me a bit. Now I think about it, this name isn't so uncommon. Your friend has the same name as famous person in this country..."

The boy tilted his head and asked:

"A famous person?"

The maid suddenly looked very depressed and Lenka took a step back.

"Right now 'Balbadd's Alibaba' refers to 'Wonder man Alibaba', this country's number one criminal."

Aladdin's face froze. The blonde went to his side, sat down on the bed and patted his back.

"Relax, child. We don't know if this is really your Alibaba. It might be a coincidence."

 _You lie almost as good as the naked king._

 _I had to learn how to do or die._

Lenka woke up early on the next day and peeled Aladdin off her breasts. He, the fanalis girl and Ugo had tested how bouncy the bed was and they stayed up until midnight, laughing and jumping. The djinn had been a good distraction to keep the small Magi away from dark thoughts.

Lenka covered him with her blanket then sneaked out of the room to the backyard to train her djinn equip. She had the maids prepare a bath afterward and waited until Morgiana and the boy were awake, knowing that Sinbad was at the palace right now.

 _Being an omniscient being is kind o fun, isn't it?_

 _I think it is a pain. I wish I could tell them what is going to happen but that would change the flow of destiny severely I reckon. And that flow shall not be changed that grave._

 _I want you to meet some of my friends,_ Orobas said. _They are a funny bunch. They would really like you._

 _Maybe we can find some of them._

 _Aren't they awake yet? Having you train djinn equip is kind of tiring._

 _You don't say,_ Lenka thought sarcastic.

 _Can't you wake them?_

 _Do you want me to get kicked by a half-sleeping fanalis girl?_

 _I think we should let them sleep._

 _You are so... Never mind._

 _Hey! You like me, do you?_

Lenka received an image of the djinn with big golden puppy eyes.

 _You like me?_

 _Well..._

 _Meanie!,_ he howled.

 _Oh, please shut up,_ the dungeon capturer thought and shook her head, then plugged her earphones in to distract him with music.

They met again at noon to eat lunch. Lenka was as overwhelmed by the delicious food as the kids even though they wolfed their portion down while she ate in her dignified manner.

"By the way, I haven't introduced my subordinates yet," Sinbad said and pointed on them. "My subordinates are Ja'far," he pointed on the white-haired man with the green keffiyeh and long robes, "and Masrur." He pointed on the fanalis in golden armor, then looked at the girl next to Lenka while the dungeon captured nodded friendly at them.

"Morgiana. Masrur is a 'fanalis'."

The girl looked really surprised and Sinbad laughed. Lenka sighed and ate another bite of the fish she had on her plate. Really good food they had here. Soon Mor and Aladdin stood up and started to fire questions at Masrur.

"Miss Lenka, would you mind accompanying Masrur and have an eye on the children as well?" Ja'far asked her. Lenka gently wiped her mouth with a napkin before she nodded and stood up.

"Thank you for the meal and have a nice chat, you guys."

She ambled over to them. Aladdin was really riled up.

"My friend Ugo is bigger than you, Masrur. And I bet he's stronger."

"... is he?"

The boy nodded exited and waved with one arm at her.

"He is! Lenka, Ugo's strong, isn't he?"

Lenka nodded and smiled at the boy.

"He was the one next to Mor taking out that thieves' hideout, wasn't he?"

"Right!" he cheered and waved with his flute.

"I'm sure he want's to meet you and Uncle Sin too! Wait a second!"

"Whoa, not in public-"

Ugo's blue arms appeared as Aladdin blew into his flute making Ja'far spit out his drink in shock and surprise.

"Oh boy," Lenka sighed while the other guests started to scream.

* * *

"Amazing!" screamed Sin. They had brought the djinn down to the canal underneath the restaurant where they were safe from curious looks. Ja'far stood guard to keep spectators away while Sin examined Ugo's big blue body. Lenka leaned on the brick wall next to the djinn.

"I kept him safe until now, but the master had told me to watch the other ones as well," she mumbled towards Ugo. She didn't know if the djinn heard her, but Masrur gave her a quick glance. He had noticed her mumbling. Fanalis ears were way too good.

"I am 'Sinbad'," the king said with a proud smirk. Aladdin stared at him with his blank expression.

"What? You don't know?" Sinbad asked wile starting to sweat in discomfort.

"I think I've heard it somewhere before... just where?"

"Please remember! The legendary 'Sinbad' who had repeatedly sailed the world's seven seas," the man with the purple braid said enthusiastic. Lenka smiled. He must have told that introduction very often.

 _I bet you will capture more. You have more_ magoi _than he has, too._

 _Hey, I want to hear the rest of his intro!_

"Capturing a total of seven dungeons! The master of seven djinn, the High King of the Seven Seas. That is 'Sinbad'," he finished then looked at the kids as if he waited for applause.

The blonde took another step towards the kneeling djinn.

"Something really bad will happen and I'm not sure if I can manage not to change the regular flow of destiny that grave. I will have do my best," she whispered.

 _He knows you will,_ Orobas said gently. Lenka touched the pendant through her scarf.

 _I'm very glad that you are here with me. Even though you are a whiny djinn sometimes._

 _I'm not whiny. Not in the least!_

 _A bit possessive?_

… _That might be true._

She grinned, then closed her eyes as she faced the sun and sighed under the warmth. Right now this quest was really acceptable. Good food, nice lodging, warm sun...

"Right now I do not have any metal vessels!" Sinbad said to Aladdin. "Would you be willing to lend us your power?"

The Magi stared at him, then looked at Lenka for help.

"Can't Lenka give you her djinn?" he asked simple-hearted. Lenka frowned. Or maybe not. Sinbad spun on his heels to stare at the young woman.

"You're a dungeon capturer?" he queried with squinted eyes. Ja'far gripped something in his sleeves tighter and Masrur shifted his weight to have a better attacking position. Lenka raised her hands to show them that she was unarmed.

"Relax, King of Sindria. I'm no threat to you and your country. I simply follow the Rukh's guidance as well as my own rules. And no, Aladdin, my djinn is bound only to me and, as you already know, he is very possessive, isn't he? I would fight at your side if you ask me, though, as long as this won't interfere with my original task."

The boy's eyes grew bigger with every word. Mor was surprised as well but Sinbad wasn't fed off that easily.

"So what is your original task?" he asked, still on guard. Lenka shot a quick glance at Ugo. The djinn shrugged and raised his hands, the universal gesture for _well, I don't mind._ Thanks, pal.

"My task is to watch the Magi, protect them and help them preventing the downfall of this world."

The silence after this revelation was so deep that Lenka thought she could hear a pin drop. Aladdin's jaw hung almost at his knees. Even Masrur seemed to be surprised and that was a huge achievement.

"Close your mouths or bugs may fly in," Lenka joked. They could haven't be more stunned if she had started to sing and perform the moonwalk. Ja'far was the first to recover.

"Are you serious?" he asked slowly. The foreigner nodded.

"I am. Ugo told me to do so and to especially watch this guy here," she reached out and gently closed Aladdin's mouth. The boy's eyes started to sparkle.

"You talked to Ugo?" he asked with saucer eyes. Lenka smiled and petted his head, then gave the djinn another look.

"I did. I was at that place because I have a similar background as you do, Aladdin. The Rukh took me here."

The boy's eyes nearly popped out now.

"They did?" he whispered disbelieving. The dimension traveler nodded.

"So you will help us capture the 'fog troupe?" Sinbad said. Lenka looked at the king. His expression was pleading and she sighed.

"I will help as long as it does not interfere with my original task," she repeated.

"Great," he said and smirked.

"Capture the fog troupe?" Aladdin asked and Lenka was out of the spotlight again. That was more to her liking. She could easily make friends with any kind of people and liked to have a certain degree of attention by them yet after all she knew about Sinbad from reading Magi she was triple cautious. That man was unpredictable and would do anything for his country. And the way he was smiling at her was a good reason as well.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading the third chapter! I try to upload as often as I can, yet there might be delays too. Just assume there will be a chapter every ten days – or so I guess – so you can be pleased if there are unscheduled uploads :)**

 **And a huge thank you to those who have liked the story already** * **I nearly died of excitement when the first notifications came in** *

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **I'll keep it short this time: _Magi_ belongs to Ohtaka Shinobu, my OC to me, there might be spoilers for those who haven't read _Magi_ that far and references to our world set _italic_.**

 **Have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Chapter 4 Dealing with Sinbad and the fog troupe

At nightfall Lenka flew over Balbadd. Sinbad and Masrur guarded the house of a noble while Ja'far, Morgianna and Aladdin were at another residence. She had an argument with Orobas. The djinn had been pretty possessive before but that had been nothing compared to now. Right now he was like 'helicopter-mom on the _NSA_ -level', always present and incredibly tiring.

 _I don't want you being near that guy,_ the djinn huffed. _He's suspicious._

 _He is, but I know what will happen until almost three years from now on, so please let me do what I have to do._

 _Then tell me what you're going to do._

 _I will go with them to Sindria after the issue with the fog troupe is settled. And then we have almost seven months or so until the Zagan arc._

 _I don't like Zagan._

 _I won't go into the dungeon, I promise,_ Lenka said and mentally petted her djinn.

 _You will be my first djinn forever, won't you? Even if I conquer another dungeon, as long as I can fight with your equip I will do._

 _Lenka! I love you!_

 _I know. Oh, it starts to get foggy, doesn't it? Let's head to Aladdin._

Lenka saw the scarlet mist covering the streets, then Ugo's giant blue body appearing.

"They've started."

Alibaba pulled off his makeshift hood, Ugo disappeared again. Then the boy passed Aladdin and started to shout.

"Come forth, Amon!"

The fire djinn's yellow and red flames shot out of his blade filling the air with fire. People screamed and ran around to escape.

 _Amon's flames are tough, but truth is always tougher._

 _Then show him what you're made of,_ Lenka thought, kneeled down, grabbed her scarf and wrapped it around her neck while falling down.

"Show me your weapon, Orobas!"

Alibaba looked up to see who had screamed this words. His eyes widened and he jumped back when the giant blade hit the ground. Lenka grinned.

"Hello, Alibaba. Please die. Now!"

She whirled the giant saber upwards and he barely managed to block the attack.

 _He won't get my flames,_ Orobas snarled. Lenka started another complex attack pattern to keep the man from advancing. Her right arm holding the hilt was covered with dark blue scales and her nails had transformed into claws. She felt almost invincible even though this was only weapon equip.

 _Our djinn equip will be amazing,_ her friend confirmed. The saber clashed against the smaller blade. The two dungeon capturer stood face to face. Alibaba's knife was trembling.

"Go now before you disappoint your friend even more, Alibaba," she hissed then jumped back to take a deep breath.

"Spirit of faithfulness and truth, show me your power and burn the darkness with you scorching flames!"

White and blue fire shot out of the blade and started to extinguish Amon's. The sky started to glow in Orobas' colors.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

"Hey! You can't run! I haven't kicked your bum yet!" Lenka yelled at the disappearing bandits and fired a few shots after them.

 _They are surprisingly fast. Lenka! The house! Don't burn the house! Argh!_

"Bloody hell. Sorry!"

* * *

Lenka kept the next day strolling around Balbadd until evening, knowing that it would take until nighttime until the next event. She visited various bazaars without customers and streets filled with dirt, people with broken eyes and children clothed in rags. Her anger grew stronger every minute she spent walking, so the girl decided to go back to the inn before setting something ablaze in her fury.

As Lenka stepped into the entrance hall she immediately spotted Morgianna's red hair. The fanalis stood next to a pillar, but when she saw Lenka she walked up to the foreigner who smiled and gave her a short hug.

"Hey Mor. Were you waiting for me? Did something happen?"

"It's about Aladdin," the girl said, "He hasn't eaten since yesterday."

Lenka frowned.

"Nothing?"

Mor nodded and the blonde loosely covered her mouth with her hand, forefinger under her nose. Then she sighed and combed her bangs back.

"It is about your friend, isn't it?"

Another nod. Lenka shoved her weight from one foot to the other while thinking, then waved her hand for the girl to follow her back to the room. Then she whispered to make sure no one listened.

"Say, do you remember where Alibaba went yesterday?"

Mor shook her head and answered:

"I remember his smell, though."

The dungeon capturer blinked, then smiled. Time to make another move.

"Say, Mor, is a fanalis nose really that good? If you assume, that a fanalis could find any man in Balbadd, could this certain fanalis walking next to me find a certain man who is a dungeon capturer and persuade him to meet and talk to his blue-haired friend again? Persuading could mean kidnapping as well, you know. The fanalis has to take certain measures to get unseen into a certain troupes hideout and out of it."

Morgianna's eyes glinted and she nodded fast. Lenka chuckled.

"Assume further, the aforesaid fanalis had managed to persuade the certain man to visit his friend and they had managed to, uhm, escape unseen a certain dungeon capturer girl would leave a window to a certain room open for the fanalis and the man to enter unseen. Just assumed."

The redhead smiled as well now.

"Then a certain fanalis will leave now to persuade a certain man."

"And certain dungeon capturer girl wishes a certain fanalis much luck because she will talk to a certain blue-haired boy now and accidentally leave a window wide open."

Both snickered, then Morgianna turned and walked back to the exit. Lenka grinned brightly.

 _That was really good. She's a nice girl._

 _She is and will be Alibaba's household member._

 _A pity._

"Mhm," she agreed and opened the door to their room. Aladdin sat on his bed, his flute gripped tightly. When Lenka entered he looked up and gave her a small smile.

"Hey Lenka."

She swallowed, threw her bag into a corner, pulled her boots off and sat down on the bed as well. The boy blinked as she pulled him on her lap, hugged him tightly and started to stroke his back. After a while the dungeon capturer started to talk.

"My brother Henry is about your age, Aladdin, and he makes exactly the same face when he is depressed and doesn't want to show it."

The boy sighed and snuggled up tighter to her.

"Must be nice to have such a good big sister."

Lenka hummed an agree.

"I miss him and my sister Valerié so much. She's a little older than Mor. But now I'm here."

"They must miss you as much as you do," Aladdin said and touched his flute. Lenka leaned her head against his.

"I'll be your sister, too."

He looked up, his blue eyes big and hopeful.

"You will?"

"Hm-hm. Even though my actions might seem strange sometimes, they will provide greater good. They are the will of the Rukh. But wanting to be your sister is my own will. I'll watch you, try to keep you safe, listen to your worries and hopes, cheer for you and grumble; that's what big sisters do."

Aladdin sniffed and buried his face in her chest. Lenka felt him tremble and began to hum a tune that calmed down her younger siblings every time she started it. The small Magi settled as well and after a few minutes he whispered:

"Promise me?"

Her heart felt like it would break at his words so she nuzzled her head against his.

"Promise. But you have to promise me that you'll never damn a decision I make, okay?"

"Okay, Lenka."

"Good. As your big sister I know that you are depressed because of Alibaba, aren't you?"

Aladdin flinched but Lenka continued to talk.

"I believe he has his reasons for saying he can't keep the promise the two of you made. Both you and Mor told me that Alibaba is a nice guy, that's why I think he did this to keep you safe."

The boy raised his head and stared at her.

"Really?"

Lenka shrugged and answered "That's what I think. His Rukh seem good as well."

"I forgot you could see them as well. Did they really look good? Really?"

"Really. So what would you do if-"

Suddenly someone knocked at the door causing them to flinch. Aladdin crawled off her lap and Lenka opened. Ja'far had raised his hand to knock again. His face brightened when he saw the dungeon capturer.

"Oh, you're back already. Could you please come with me? King Sinbad wants to talk with you."

Lenka nodded.

"Just a second please," she turned and walked to the window, opened it, then back to the Magi.

"Aladdin, I'll be out for some adults talk, but Mor will be back soon. Please eat something and sleep for a bit, too."

She gave him a peck on the cheek.

"See you."

The boy touched his cheek and smiled at her.

"Bye, big sis!"

"He looked really pale to me." the vizier said while they walked through a corridor. Lenka chuckled.

"You are the right one saying that, aren't you? Rest assure," she raised her hands to apologize under the nasty glare he shot at her, "I calmed him down with something that works on most males."

Ja'far seemed slightly interested.

"What something?"

"Boobs."

Lenka burst out into laughter when she saw his blushing face. A man that had crossed their way gave her the strange look she was so familiar with and hurried away. She wiped a tear away and grinned at the ex-assassin a few centimeters shorter than her and asked with innocent eyes:

"Don't you agree?"

He looked away.

"I have to reconsider something."

"I don't think it will work on Sinbad, though. He seems like someone who has not only seen enough of them but felt as well, doesn't he?"

Ja'far's blush deepened.

"Would you please stop talking like that, Miss Lenka? It is not appropriate for a woman of your age."

Lenka snickered.

"Thank you very much, but I'm already an adult, I am going to be nineteen in a few months. Where I come from women are equal to men, so they can talk like them, think for themselves, have their own opinion, education, jobs like men and rule a country as well. We are strong. Plus I was raised as a boy the first eight years of my life, but that is another story. Fact is that you would better see me as an equal and not underestimate me. Anything else would be a grave mistake, won't it?"

Ja'far nodded.

"I understand. Here we are."

They had arrived at Sinbad's chambers. Ja'far knocked, then opened the door to let the dungeon capturer enter first.

The high king of the seven seas sat on the couch behind a large marble desk, Masrur stood behind him. A map of the city and a fruit bowl were placed decoratively on the table top, as well as two cups and a carafe filled with red wine. Ja'far closed the door and rushed to his king's other side. Sinbad smiled at Lenka and patted on the place next to him.

"Hello Lenka. Did you have a nice day? Have a seat."

Lenka snuffled and sat down, not as far away that it was rude, but as far away as appropriate for a girl. The king gave her a charming grin.

"Wine?" he asked. Lenka shook her head.

"Please cut the small-talk. I have a feeling that something will happen tonight that will change our way of operating."

Sinbad tilted his head.

"Maybe you haven't eaten enough. Here, take some grapes."

Lenka gave him an annoyed glance.

"My djinn shows me parts of the future, but the Rukh forbade me to give detailed information to the people born in this world; that is why I can't say anything clearer. I know what you want to ask."

Sinbad took his cup and leaned back.

"So what do I want to ask?" he answered; his eyes didn't smile when he took a sip of the wine. Lenka smiled as well and crossed her legs.

"First question: who are you?

Second question: what are your orders?

Third question: are you a threat to my country?

Fourth question: if not, would you join me fighting the abnormalities of this world?

These are some of them, aren't they?"

Sinbad smirked.

"You're right."

Lenka leaned back and looked at Masrur and Ja'far, then back to the king.

"It would be better if everyone had a comfortable seat, because this is going to take a bit longer."

The two generals took place. Sinbad raised a brow. Lenka exhaled.

"First question: Who is Lenka? Well, that's the point. King Sinbad, there are other worlds with intelligent life than yours."

Sinbad nodded.

"I thought that it had to be like that. What is it like? Your world?"

Lenka sighed.

"It is completely different from yours. We have no Rukh, no magic whatsoever. That is the first thing you need to know about my world. Second, our technologies are by far more advanced than yours."

Lenka took her smartphone out of her pocket and showed to the king who leaned closer.

"This is a device made from various metals and artificial materials. It was invented to make people able to talk to each other wherever they are. It is really complicated for me to explain but I think I can compare it to some kind of clairvoyance magic."

"Impressive," the king murmured.

"Sadly I have no connection here, so it's practically useless. I keep it because it was very expensive and I hope that I will return to my world someday."

Sinbad looked up, his eyes glittering.

"What made this possible?" he asked hungrily. Lenka shrugged.

"About three hundred years or so ago someone invented a machine using steam to produce rotary motion to power manufacturing machines and after that the industrialization began. It was a period when many great inventions were made, too many of them for me to explain at all. This continues until now, we have the year 2015 right now. We say it's 2015 because some very religious guys said their savior was born then and that's why we count like that.

This is the third thing you need to know: we have different religions, many of them. My world is a world of differences and difficulties, war and peace, discrimination and integration. We have so many cultures and languages that it is hardly possible to recall all of them. Everyone is different, everyone clothes different, but still there are people who can't accept that everyone is an unique valuable being.

Fourth, we know how our universe, our solar system, our planet, the human race on this planet evolved. We know how hot the innermost core of our planet is, how electricity is produced and how to use it for our machines, how to invent weapons that can destroy the planet in a second but we don't know when it's time to stop. Stop a war, stop wasting resources, or just stop by to talk to someone. We are a species full of flaws, full of anger, hate, violence and greed. Still, some are more moderate than others."

Lenka inhaled and took a sip of the wine.

"That's it. You need to know that basically everything is different in my world. Do you need a break?"

Sinbad shook his head.

"Not at least, but that might explain why the way you talk is so funny. That was your world. Who are you?"

Lenka ignored his comment about her manners of speech being amusing and looked outside; the sun was setting. There was enough time left. She sighed.

"My name... Marlene-Karen Sensenmacher. Eighteen years old. First daughter to a rich esteemed household. My mother was nobility, but nobility doesn't count anything in my world anymore. She died when I was seven. I have a younger sister and a younger half-brother. My father remarried when I was eight. I had a twin; he died at birth. That's why I was raised as the male heir the first eight years of my life. I was trained in various arts and sports, am fluid in five languages, know how to lead a business and studied to become a doctor before I got transferred here. I left school with the best grades since sixty years, was national best student. Kind of a genius, am I not?"

Anything else you want to know about me?"

Ja'far cleared his throat.

"Are you married?"

Lenka flinched, then shook her head.

"No. My father told me he wanted to marry me off the day before I got here, though. People marry around the age of thirty and most times the person they love."

"A lover then?"

"Nope. I had a boyfriend but we broke up on the day b.t."

"B.t?"

"Before transfer. It's shorter calling it like that, isn't it?"

He nodded, satisfied with her answer, then changed a quick glance with his king. The dimension traveler took another mouthful of wine when the vizier asked:

"Would you consider marriage in this world?"

Lenka chocked on her wine and started coughing.

"God, no! I'd never marry, not in this world nor in mine."

"Why not?" Sinbad asked. The girl frowned.

"I believe this is a topic not concerning you, unless you want to marry me, isn't it? But I'd prefer to stay unbound."

The silence following this statement was rather awkward. Lenka sighed and asked:

"Can I go on with the next point?"

Sinbad nodded and winked with his hand.

"My orders come from the Rukh, or so I'd say."

 _King Solomon._

 _I can't tell him._

"They'd fulfill a wish I subconsciously have if I change destiny 'to the light's favour' and protect 'the ones choosing kings'. That's my order."

The High King of the seven seas emptied his cup before he talked.

"'The ones choosing kings' are clearly the Magi."

"I think so as well," she agreed. "That's why I told you yesterday that I will cooperate with you as long as Aladdin isn't in grave danger, didn't I? But I might have to not only protect Aladdin. There are other Magi as well, aren't they?"

Sinbad's expression darkened and Ja'far grabbed his wires through his sleeves.

"Let's hope that you don't meet any of them in near future," the king said. "I'd rather see you as Sindria's ally than Reim's."

"That's the third question. No, I'm no threat to your country. My top priority are the Magi and their protection. I will stay a neutral instance and conquer dungeons if a war ensues. But I will fight if there is a certain organization involved. It's the will of the Rukh. They want the abnormalities to be banished and that's the answer to your fourth question, I assume."

Sinbad's golden eyes widened and he smirked, turning into his usual laid-back self.

"A enemy to Al-Thamen is a friend to me. I'm glad to hear that."

She placed her cup on the table and stood up.

"I have to look after Aladdin. He hasn't eaten since yesterday and I don't want him to get sick."

The men rose as well and Ja'far hurried to make the way free. The king took a step towards her and placed his hand on her arm.

"Thanks for your honest answers, Miss Lenka. I appreciate that."

Lenka shrugged.

"A long as you remember that everything I do is the will of the Rukh we won't have any problems concerning loyalty and such. Blame every decision on them if you're not satisfied."

Sinbad chuckled, his eyes glimmering with something that made her spine tingle. His grip on her arm tightened, the other hand brushed a strand of golden hair out of her face before pausing under her chin.

"Then I'll blame this decision on them too," he smiled, leaned forward and gave her a deep kiss.

Lenka had kissed before. She liked the act of kissing someone, too, so she responded to him. Sinbad was good, but her skin crawled as if something really vicious waited for her to lower her guard. The metal vessel started to pulse in the same pace as her heart.

A few seconds later Sinbad withdrew, an unspoken question in his eyes. Lenka released her arm, took a step back and shook her head.

"Thank you, but this has no future. You're not my type."

He tilted his head and smirked.

"You liked it, though."

She shrugged.

"There is no law forbidding a girl to enjoy a little snogging. But you need to know, King Sinbad," she glared at him, "I am not a plaything. And you are really not my type."

The king started to laugh, apparently not noticing that his men had taken a few steps back.

"Fine, I understand," he took a step forward, "But won't you keep me company until-"

" _She won't,"_ a voice growled.

Lenka flinched and stared at her djinn. Orobas had materialized, his lower body connected with the vessel, even so still two times bigger than her. His horns nearly hit the roof. The spirit protectively wrapped his left arm from behind around his queen's waist, the other around her front, hand on her shoulder.

" _I'll never accept someone like you to keep her company,"_ he hissed and bared his fangs. He really had fangs, Lenka thought. They matched his warrior-appearance. Despite that girly stole.

Sinbad had taken back his steps and stared at the djinn, Ja'far had put out his wire-weapon, Masrur stood on the other side, ready to attack.

"You have enough _magoi_ to give your djinn physical appearance? Are you a Magi as well?" the king asked. Lenka shook her head while the djinn answered:

" _She is not. And you won't touch her with these dirty kinds of thoughts again or I'll summon myself and rip you apart, faster than your household members and your own djinn."_

The dimension traveler grinned, turned her head and gave her djinn a kiss on the cheek.

"I think he got it, Orobas. Thank you."

" _My queen,"_ the djinn answered and vanished. Lenka raised her hands and shrugged.

"That's it. I'll take my leave now. Keep ready, this night might get interesting."

* * *

 _Thanks for saving me, Orobas. I might have slapped him._

 _No big deal, Lenka. It was a pleasure to see his face like that._

"But still, that idiotic," Lenka opened the door to their dark room and walked in, "dumb, egomaniac, perverted, smug, smirking stupid king!"

Lenka heard a surprised cough in the dark and whirled around.

"Oh, Mor, you've persuaded him!"

The fanalis nodded.

"Yes."

"Big Sis, why were you cursing?" asked Aladdin, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. Lenka made a face and shrugged.

"That king had the opinion he could have, uh, a more intimate relationship with me and Orobas busted his dream."

Morgianna nodded, Aladdin looked clueless and Alibaba's face reddened. The dimension traveler grabbed her bag and took her sword from a shelf then turned back to the others.

"I'll leave you alone so you can talk more privately. Please call me when you're finished, will you?"

"Thanks," Alibaba muttered. Lenka gave him a caring glance, then looked to the Magi.

"If you decide something I'll follow you, Aladdin. I'm your guardian."

The blue-haired boy beamed at her and waved.

"Thank you, big sis Lenka!"

She grinned and left the room, then walked down the corridor to a window and started to count the fog trooper appearing in the dark.

 _This is going to be fun._

A few minutes later the building shook; apparently Cassim had made his entrance. The wall in front of the dungeon capturer was literally broken open by a metal hook a second later. Fog troopers jumped through the hole.

"Hello guys! Let's play!" Lenka cheered and drew her sword.

Those people were no match for her, even though some of them seemed to be experienced fighters. Her blade was too fast, her body too nimble; she did not only stab and slash but jump and kick as well. Soon the corridor in front of her was filled with moaning men she had beaten. None of them were seriously injured. Some of them were glaring at her already, ready to attack.

"Upstairs! Upstairs!" a voice called.

"Good idea. Come on, bitches! Get up and run!" she screamed and switched her sword hand. Orobas' saber appeared in the other and Lenka used the flames to seal the hole in the wall behind them.

Then she unleashed her blood-thirst. A cold wave rushed through the fog troopers. One of them even wet himself. Lenka grinned viciously.

"I've beaten you, haven't I? You should run away. Because now," she lifted her djinn weapon and licked over the fiery blade, "I'm going to kill."

They were very fast. The dimension traveler's malicious laugh echoed as she slowly followed them the hallway down to the stairs. More men of the fog troop were running down the steps. Some of them stopped and stared at her, the flaming saber, her blood-dripping katana and her wicked smile.

" _Run."_ she ordered, her voice mixing with that of her djinn.

 _We are great, Lenka._

 _I want to do a full-body equip to scare them even more._

 _Soon. Very soon._

She released her equip after no bandits had stumbled down for a minute, wiped her sword clean with a piece of cloth and climbed up.

"In short, let me be your comrade by joining your 'fog troupe'!" Sinbad said. His vizier yelped then ran to his side to discuss with him. Lenka ambled to the Magi and Morgianna. The boy grinned while the girl looked kind of sorrowful.

"Hey my dears. Looks like he's changing course now, isn't he? Poor Ja'far. He seems to be crying."

Mor nodded and Aladdin smiled.

"Sinbad is so interesting. Although he is a weird person, I know he'll definitely become really famous in the future."

Lenka chuckled.

"Dear, he is famous already. He has conquered seven dungeons, you know? Yet you won't think that of him after meeting him in the nude."

"I wonder, had he already planned this from the start?" the boy mused.

"Maybe, but it could have been pure luck and the fact that I told him to stay on alert."

The dimension traveler looked up to the stars. They were brighter than she had ever seen them back home in London and the constellations were foreign too. She was really in another world, far, far away from her own.

"I hope they have finished soon or I'll start sleeping while standing upright."

* * *

 **I really suffered on writer's block during this chapter and the one I'm writing at the moment because Lenka doesn't want to act like I want her to act *stares at at Lenka who notices stare and protects her cookies* It will be a long, stony path until I get the story to where it should be... but I really, really thank you for reading! And Yukina. T for the review! *waves* I know what you mean *snickers and grins***

 **Feel free to send me more reviews if you have the time and you feel like it because I'm really happy that I can share my crazy thoughts with you out there and want to know what you think of _Second Chance_ until now!**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **First things first: _Magi_ belongs to the amazing Ohtaka Shinobu, my OC to me, there might be spoilers for those who accidentally landed here and haven't read Magi that far and references to our world.**

 **The official translation in my country told me that his name is Judar so his name will be Judar *I had to rewrite this chapter a few times because of that -.-°*  
**

 **Even so, please have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 5 Meeting Judar

 _Do you really think it is okay that you joined the fog troupe as well?_ Orobas asked Lenka with sorrowful voice. They walked over a bazaar in the early morning to inspect the damage done in the night before. Apparently the fog troupe hadn't raided this area, so the merchants were still selling food and jewels in their shabby stalls. She stepped over a muddy puddle and shrugged slightly while watching out for more.

 _I haven't joined them, I just followed to watch over Aladdin._

 _He is really not like a Magi right now. Way too weak._

 _That's why I mind him. Sadly I can't do more because I have to take care of not changing the cannon as well._

 _What cannon?_

 _Just ignore what I just said,_ the girl thought. Something had catched her attention. A food stall selling fresh fruit was exactly the thing she needed now, not only to prevent scurvy but as distraction from her worries as well.

"Do you still take gold coins or just paper money?" she asked the owner who nodded overjoyed. Lenka relaxed. The man was probably one of the very few in the city who accepted payment in coins. Her mood brightened significantly.

"Then I'll take twelve peaches."

She paid for fifteen and went on to search for a place where she could eat her snack. Luckily the streets were empty because almost every citizen had went to the palace to know what the result of the debate between Alibaba and the king was going to be. Lenka decided to sit on a roof over a small garden with green grass, a few blooming bushes and an old olive tree. If olive trees existed in this world. It could be a the equivalent to an olive tree that only existed in this world and in no other. That brought up a new and way more important question: did they have cocoa trees? Probably not. And even if they had no one would have the technology to make chocolate. She really missed chocolate, Micaela, the internet, ice cream and television, the best combination to solve any kind of problem, not exactly in this order though.

Lenka snickered. If she told Micaela about the night before her friend would presumably have almost an heart attack, then a hysteric laughing fit followed by a bombardment of questions and an analysis of Sinbad's kissing technique plus a comparison of him in the manga and in the reality she was now while eating a mountain of chocolate chip cookie ice cream and finally Mica would hug her and tell how proud she was that Lenka hadn't reduced him to a pulp because he tried to hit on her. And then the redhead would try to worship Orobas for being such a good djinn. That would be a very funny and very embarrassing evening. If she ever returned back to London.

Orobas gave her a mental poke and interrupted her monologue.

 _Why did you take peaches?_

 _I like them. They taste like home,_ she answered and picked one out of the small bowl she was given in addition to the fruit. The peach was sweet and juicy and Lenka sighed delighted. At least the food was great, even though they had no chocolate and ice cream. Ice cream would have been very tasty now. Balbadd was a very hot and damp city as it was built as a port city. Luckily her hair didn't curl and she didn't get a sunburn very fast...

"Are those peaches you're eating?" a voice asked from behind and above her. The girl turned her head just to look into red eyes. A young man in black clothes similar to her own floated in the air, his long black braid swinging freely. His grin said he would certainly cause mischief if she wouldn't take care of him and her surroundings. The Rukh orbited around him and chirped like mad, black and white ones alike.

 _OHMYGAWDIT'SHIM!_ her inner fangirl shrieked.

 _What the heck is wrong with you?! Who is the guy?_ Orobas yelled back.

 _YIIIIIIIIIIIII!_

 _My ears! My ears!_

Lenka decided to maintain a cool outward appearance despite her inner excitement, continued to munch her piece of peach, nodded and pointed at Judar, then patted on the roof on the other side of the fruit bowl and handed him a peach. The Magi grabbed the progeny and landed on the spot she had patted. The golden arm cuffs glinted in the sunlight as he bit into the peach.

"Not that bad."

Lenka nodded and nibbled at hers while her inner fangirl jumped in frenzy and squeaked while the djinn screamed at her to tell him who the fellow was.

"Have eaten better and worse."

He snickered.

"Yep. Why are you sitting here eating peaches?"

The girl licked the sweet juice from a finger.

"The roof is warm."

Judar nodded, spat his stone down into the garden and reached out for another one. Then he stared at Lenka and tilted his head.

"Your clothes have the same style as mine," he said amazed. Her inner fangirl and Orobas were near overloading her mental capacity so Lenka started to grin then placed her stone on her other side before she took another peach.

"Not intentionally. I liked them so I bought them. Just had them change the pants. Take as many as you want, it's not like I could eat them all at once."

"I could," he grinned mischievously.

"There are eight left now. I had bought twelve. Once I managed to eat eleven in a row and then I felt really weird."

Judar chuckled and grabbed his next.

"I managed sixteen before my stomach went funny," he bragged and Lenka laughed.

"Sixteen? Must have been world's record."

"I bet it was. Why are you here?"

 _Stop flirting with her you girly lad or I will turn you into a torch!_

 _CONTINUE; JUST CONTINUE, GNIHIHIHIHIHIHIHI!_

 _LENKAAA!?_

Lenka bit in her third peach to delay her answer.

"On the roof?"

"In this foggy excuse for a town. I really want to destroy it. It's too hot and damp."

Lenka shrugged and gave him another peach.

"Jobs to do."

"What jobs?"

Apparently she had awoken his curiosity. Lenka grinned and placed her stone next to the other two.

"I am a kind of guardian. I guard a special kind of people."

Judar cupped his chin in his hand and waved with his half-eaten fruit.

"Special people. I'm special too."

The dimensional traveler decided to reveal a bit more. She had to if she wanted to keep a friendly relationship with the black Magi. So she reached out and poked a white Rukh that fluttered at her knee.

"I'm special as well. I can see them."

Judar's eyes widened as she poked another Rukh. She had definitely awoken his curiosity.

"You really can see them," he whistled. "How?"

"I'm from a place without magic and got here by the Rukh's will, so they're visible to me."

He snorted.

"There's no place without Rukh. And you have much _magoi_."

Lenka stretched her fingers and smiled at him. She had decided to take another step to keep him busy and her inner fangirl waved and cheered her on while Orobas continued to threaten him.

"It's magic. What's your name anyways? Mine is Lenka."

"Judar," he answered and took another peach. His fifth? Sixth?

"So what do you do in Balbadd, Judar? Except from eating peaches."

 _DON'T SAY YOU'RE HERE TO FLIRT WITH MY LENKA,_ Orobas growled when the Magi shrugged.

"Stuff. Sleeping, ignoring people, meetings with the king... Oh. I should go. Meeting with the king."

He snatched another peach, stood up and winked at her, grinning mischievously.

"See you, boobies."

"Peaches! One last thing!"

He turned around in the air and blinked. Lenka had pulled Orobas out of her shirt and swung the pendant in front of her.

"I protect people like you. People who can give me something in return."

Judar blinked again and grinned broader than before. Her inner fangirl gave standing ovations for her courage.

"I think I'll like you."

* * *

 _He's up to no good!_

 _You told me Sinbad is up to no good as well._

 _But this guy has nearly fallen!_

 _Can't your scorching white flames cleanse black Rukh, can they?_

 _They can but he is still up to no good._

 _Whiny djinn. You are the one dangling between my boobs, so stop sulking._

The night had begun a few hours before. Lenka sat on a stone in the fog troupe's hideout and combed her hair to bind them into a high pony tail. She had been waiting for Judar's return and with every minute he didn't show up she got more nervous. The traveler checked her bag a third time, sighed then stood up and hid at one of the entries to the hall. From this new spot she saw where Sinbad stood while commanding the fog troopers around and through the hole in the roof as well. The king had tried to speak to her a few very awkward times since the kissing incident but luckily Ja'far or Aladdin interrupted them before they broached the delicate topic. She knew that he was a serial womanizer yet she was sure that she hadn't given him a reason to approach her. She wasn't dense, just inexperienced because the two relationships she had in the past four years lasted not even three months. Summed up. Despite her appearance she was more the boyish and independent type so her only explanation was that her boyfriends were so intimidated by her, her social standing, her intellectual superiority or something like that that they broke up.

A change in the Rukh's movement caused Lenka to look at the hole in the roof; the starlight was blocked by a angled flying object, a black figure almost invisible for the inattentive observer.

"Here he comes again," she told Orobas.

"Hey Sinbad!"

Sinbad frowned, his expression shocked. Judar jumped off his carpet that flew through the roof and walked towards Sindria's king.

"Hey, stupid king!" he greeted. "What are you doing here?"

Lenka had to admit that Sinbad caught himself surprisingly fast. He knew what Judar would do if he showed a weakness – utter destruction.

 _What are these?_

 _Pills against bruises._

 _Bruises?_

"Judar, were you sent under Ahbmad's orders? Or did the Kou empire send you?"

The Magi frowned for a second then beamed brightly.

"No no! It's nothing like that! To tell you the truth, those things don't matter to me at all!"

"What do you plan to do with this country?"

The purple-braided man nearly screamed. His calm fled faster than fog in the sun. Lenka reached out, grabbed a man standing in front of her and pulled him back.

"Run," she whispered. "This guy is capable of destroying an entire country. Alarm as many guys as you can and leave. Quietly."

The fog trooper nodded and hushed outside. The girl shifted to the next man, gave him the same explanation and task. Then she took a peek at the men standing in the middle of the room. Judar praised the Kou empire and his dungeon capturers while Ja'far told Aladdin who the foreign man was. She managed to alarm two more before she herd Aladdin's yelp.

 _Ohhh Fuck!_

Judar stared at the boy and the boy stared back at the older Magi.

"Hm? Who's this guy?" the oracle asked mildly surprised. Then he turned his head to the king.

"Hey Sinbad. The Rukh around this guy are weird. Who is he exactly?"

 _Oh fuckohfuck what shall I do what should I do?_

 _First, don't panic, Lenka. You said this guy wasn't that-_

"THIS CHIBI IS A MAGI? NO WAY!"

 _Okay. We should panic. What is the plan?_

"'Magi' are supposed to be amazing beings!" an upset Judar nearly screamed, pointing on his chest. "When Rukh was sent out to change the world they're considered the strongest magic users with the largest amount of _magoi_ in the creation of the world. That's 'Magi'!"

 _Oh holy Solomon you thought of protecting that guy? Lenka! He's insane!_

 _Shut it, he will need medical treatment when Ugo has flattened him like a pancake!_

 _He will WHAT?!_

 _YOU are the djinn supposed to see future!_

Punch! Judar's right fist had hit Aladdin's left eye.

 _Owww poor boy!_ Orobas yelped and Lenka rushed forward.

"Peaches! Stop picking on children please!"

Judar looked up and his expression brightened.

"Boobies! What are you doing here with these people? Wait," he blinked at her who had fed Aladdin the small white homeopathic pills she had found in her medicine-kit. Then he seemed to notice something and his jaw fell.

"Is he the one you're guarding? No way!"

She shrugged and stuffed the vial back in her bag.

"He's the one who needs protection the most at the moment."

Judar frowned.

"Are you his king candidate as well?"

"I'm not."

"Then whose," he gnarled, "Yunan's?"

Lenka snorted and shook her head.

"As if. Maybe it was his dungeon, but I'm not his candidate."

Judar calmed down instantly.

"Okay. Be mine."

"What?!"

The Magi snickered as he herd not only Lenka, but the other people who knew him screaming in disbelief. The dimensional traveler shook her head again.

"Wasn't Sinbad your goal?"

Sinbad gave her a appalled glance while Judar shrugged and beamed at her.

"You have even more _magoi_ than him and no country yet."

"And you have Kou."

"I could leave Kou if you ask me."

Lenka calmly looked in his eyes.

"I will protect you if you choose to cut your ties with a certain organization. You know I can. And I know you can do this."

He stared at her, shocked, insecure how to answer. Lenka sighed.

"You know where you can find me, Peaches."

"Fine!" he snapped. "Oi, Chibi! Do you have another dungeon capturer protecting you?"

Aladdin was still shocked but when Lenka stoked his head he seemed to recover significantly. Morgianna and Alibaba stared at her until she nodded and tilted her head in the direction of the other Magi. Judar sighed and closed his eyes.

"Whatever. I'll just find him by myself."

He lowered his head for a second, and when he faced the people in the room again he seemed to see through them. His stare gave the dimension traveler goosebumps. Then he smiled a little bit.

"I've-" he took a step forward.

"Found-" he took another step.

"You!" he pointed on Alibaba who had stepped in front of Aladdin. Judar stared at him for another second before saying:

"I seem to remember you."

Lenka slowly stepped back and placed her bag near the wall.

"You're the guy that was bullied by Ahbmad earlier today."

Alibaba's eyes widened in shock, especially when Judar started to giggle.

"You looked so horrid then! I saw you scream at the top of your lungs, but you were treated like nothing and you even cried in the end when you were called a maggot!"

The black Magi was laughing now, Alibaba trembling with anger and queasiness.

"Really," Judar covered his face with one hand, the other was still pointing on Alibaba.

"You're such an useless guy..."

"HE'S NOT USELESS!" Aladdin screamed, catching everyone's attention. Judar looked slightly surprised when the younger started to scream at him, defending his friend.

"He's a brave person! There's no way he is a useless person!"

 _He is as well,_ Orobas said and Lenka nodded.

 _Get ready. We'll djinn-equip after he hurts Alibaba. I'd love to say something really cool._

The djinn's laughter filled her head when Lenka concentrated on the story again. Judar seemed to be amused now.

"Chibi, is this guy really a candidate for king that's worth such high hopes?"

Alibaba glared at him while the Magi reached into his scarf and pulled his short black wand out.

"I don't see it..."

 _Get ready._

"At all!" he screamed and shot the magic he had gathered at the tip of the red jewel towards Alibaba. It hit the blonde prince in the stomach and he flew backwards into a wall.

"Look! He's way too weak!"

Morgianna jumped to his side, Sinbad turned from the boy towards Judar and opened his mouth-

"SPIRIT OF FAITHFULNESS AND TRUTH, DWELL IN MY BODY; COVER ME WITH THE SCORCHING WHITE FLAMES OF PURITY!"

Judar spun around just to see the flames shrouding Lenka and started to laugh.

"What can a simple dungeon capturer do against a Magi?"

Then he stopped laughing and his red eyes went as big as saucer plates.

"Oh."

"Whoa!" cheered Aladdin and jumped upwards. Sinbad grinned as well while Ja'far and Alibaba started to blush. Lenka looked down. Her fierce roar caused the ground to shake. Flames erupted from crevices, flickering angry.

"THATS NOT DJINN EQUP! THAT'S PERVERT EQUIP! WHY ELSE AM I WEARING A FUCKING T-STRING ?! I'LL SPANK YOU SO HARD THAT YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO SIT FOR A WEEK!"

" _It suits you,"_ the djinn said beaming with pride and audible for everyone. Lenka closed her eyes, inhaling deeply to continue her scolding.

"YOU-"

Grope.

"Amazing. They are even bigger than I thought. And soft as well."

Lenka's eyes flew open just to see the raven-haired Magi drooling over her breasts. His hands managed to cover more than the blue pieces of cloth attached to the golden chains hanging from her choker. Lenka herd Aladdin's cheer a second before she punched Judar in the stomach, grabbed his right arm and shoulder-threw him. His magic shield, the borg protected him from the impact and he bounced away just to land next to Aladdin who gave him an admiring look.

"That was very brave. Good luck."

"Huh?"

Judar's eyes followed Aladdin's back for a second as the boy ran away. That second was enough. Lenka tackled him, ramming her sword with both hands next to his head in the ground, her right knee placed on his bare stomach. Then she lowered her head, her now white hair brushing his shocked face.

"You're so dead, groping peach boy."

His next borg threw her backwards into a wall but she somersaulted and managed to land with her feet first, then jumped forward, her foothold crumbling. The flames of her stole followed her movement as if they were living beings as well. Judar flew upwards, Lenka followed him slashing upwards down at his barrier and kicking it in the same motion. She heard a satisfying crack, the Magi bounced left but Orobas' sword was there to meet the protective magic.

"I'll slaughter you for defiling my purity!"

 _These boobs are mine,_ the djinn howled.

Judar's face blushed.

"I did not!"

Lenka stabbed his borg.

"These are private property! How dare you?!"

"I did not-"

She kicked the glowing ball.

"For fuck's sake, hurry up and apologize!"

Judar threw a quick set of ice spears at her. Lenka met them with fire.

"You were provoking me!"

"This is the djinn equip's fault!"

Flames whirled against ice while the people on the ground hurried to find cover.

 _I'll change the equip._

"Then don't djinn equip!"

"Then stop hurting my friends!"

Lenka stopped in mid-air and grabbed her sword's hilt with both hands. Judar's eyes widened.

"You-"

"Got you."

The dimensional traveler waved with both hands and fire balls rained on the Magi who blocked with his ice magic. Lenka growled and landed, then her djinn equip disappeared.

"What's up, Boobies?" Judar asked with a grin and floated deeper.

"My equip wore off. It was my first."

"Yeah, I see, but what now? That wasn't even extreme magic."

"I'll go sulking!"

He blinked. The audience was stunned.

"Might be better if you go," he agreed. "Cool your head."

Lenka whirled around just to see him raise his wand. Ice covered her feet before she was able to get away, grew up in an instant. She managed to take a deep breath before the magic ice covered her face.

The motions outside were much faster than before. Lenka couldn't cope with them. Lightning flashed, blue whirled. Her thoughts were really, really slow. A voice in the back of her head called her name, again and again. A person in golden armor tried to break her shell. She knew his name. Masrur the fanalis. The ice was too thick. He wouldn't be able to free her. He needed fire. She needed fire. Her djinn!

 _Orobas..._

 _Lenka! It looks really bad now, Ugo is wounded!_

 _I command... you... to make me..._

 _I know._

The metal vessel grew hot and the heat spread over her body. The ice cracked, shattered and Lenka could breath again. She held up with her sword and started coughing. Masrur took her other arm to help her stand.

"Let's get out."

Lenka shook her head then raised a flame wall in the blink of an eye to counter Judar's magic.

"Sorry, but I need to protect them."

She dropped the wall and jumped in the direction of her bag, leaving the surprised man behind. A loud boom. Sharp pain. Her vision blurred. The djinn equip wore off again. The dimensional traveler hit the wall right next to her luggage, unable to tell what had caused the pang. Then she saw the blue djinn punching the black Magi's protective shell. It felt like she had received the blow instead of the borg and Lenka was convulsed with pain.

 _Holy Solomon..._

 **Protect the ones choosing kings.**

Masrur was at her side again and Sinbad as well but Lenka ignored them. The pain and the voice booming in her head was too much.

"Stop it, please," she groaned. Cold hands tried to help her, grabbed her arm, her arm-

 _-hands big hand grabbing her arm choking her pain so painful stop it stop it-_

"Stop it!"

She wrestled herself free just to see Judar stabbing Ugo's chest.

"No!"

Everything slowed down again, crystal-clear images flooded her mind. Aladdin's shocked face. The ice piercing the djinn. Judar smirked, thinking he had won. Then Ugo raised his hands and grabbed the borg.

"Stop it, Ugo! He will break!"

He? Why he? Not it?

The djinn ignored everything, squeezing further.

"I made an oath! Stop it!"

The borg cracked. Judar's bones snapped in the merciless grip. Luckily he fainted in an instant. Lenka did not. She received the pain the Magi wasn't able to feel and the screams he couldn't scream left her mouth instead.

 **Protect the ones choosing kings.**

The Magi fell to the ground like a rag doll a child had dropped. Blood trickled from the djinn's hand. Ugo stood up and raised his arms, palms to the sky. Red light surrounded them. Heat spiraled through the air.

Lenka wasn't able to scream any more. She grabbed her bag and rushed forward to stop the djinn, Sinbad yelled her name. People stumbled away as the impact shook the floor, stones, smoke and flames shot upwards. Orobas' magic protected her, white fire like a borg covered her body. Rukh fluttered into the flames and the traveler felt the energy returning to her body, even though she was still shaky from being frozen, the pain and the sudden flashback.

Lenka stopped at the edge of the crater. Ugo was alone. No smoldering pieces of Magi on the ground. She looked up at the sky and sighed at the aspect of a huge flying carpet. That was the next hurdle to take.

* * *

 **And another chapter finished! Sorry for the cliffhanger but I will upload soon!**

 **I have a rough outline for the story but some chapters multiply because of a certain person's actions *glares at Lenka who waves back* good for you, the story will reach more than thirty chapters, bad for me, I will have to write them. Just kidding.**

 **Reviews! I'm addicted to reviews! Thank you so very much,**

 **Kios Denlion: He really is and I'll keep writing *so thankful*,**

 **2160184: I tried to hug my laptop and I plan on updating weekly now – I have the time, school's over *grins*,**

 **guest who reviewed on June 19: I really hadn't planned his action. Seriously!**

 **hecate600: *Lenka blushes at your flattery* I hope I can manage to get the picture I've drawn of them scanned and uploaded so you can fawn over him *snickers***

 **guest who reviewed for every chapter posted until now on June 27: Answer for 1 &2: Thank you! I'm overjoyed! *Squeals* Answer for 3: Pairing? Well, someone Orobas will approve of *laughs* I thought of a few guys, but you will see *laughs devilishly* Answer for 4: He did *snickers* and here is your update.**

 **One last thing: Orobas doesn't wear t-strings in his djinn form and a male dungeon capturer wouldn't as well. I think he designed a very revealing outfit exclusive for Lenka, that's why he said he would change it *Lenka hits him because he hasn't up to chapter 11***

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **As you know, _Magi_ belongs to Ohtaka Shinobu, my OC to me, there might be spoilers for the ones not as obsessed with _Magi_ as the others plus references to this world. And if you find spelling mistakes you can keep them, they won't bite ;)**

 **Have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 6 Meeting Ren Kougyoku

"Oh my... What's that? That monster... Doesn't it look like he bullied our cute Judar a bit much?" the eight princess of the Kou empire said, staring down from her flying carpet. One of her djinn soldiers carried the unconscious Magi on his hands, carefully placing him on the floating transport. More waited in their human forms behind their master. Her attendant Ka Koubun said something then Kougyoku pulled her hair needle out of the golden ring holding the bow-like strands. Ugo switched to attack mode again, red heat magic in both hands.

 _What should we do?_

 _I believe you should not fight her. The pain you suffered should not be taken lightly._

"Spirits of sorrow and isolation," the princess chanted while holding her vessel over her head, "In the name of my _magoi_ and my will to grant me greater power, I command thee and thy members, _come forth, Vinea!_ "

Water swirled around her, forming the figure of a snake. The headless djinn jumped and tried to squeeze the red-haired princess like he did with the Magi. Steam evaporated and Kougyoku screamed furiously, then covered her hands with the weapon equip. Vinea's giant sword appeared and she jumped off the carped, rotated around herself and pierced Ugo with a fulminate strike.

Lenka, still standing at the edge of the caldera heard Aladdin's pained scream. The djinn disappeared and the golden flute fell to the floor; the eight-pointed star had vanished.

"How's that, Ka Koubun?!" Kougyoku asked her advisor, then jumped on the carpet.

"How's Judar's condition?"

"I'm giving him the emergency treatment now, but we'll need standard facilities for a full recovery," the man answered. His household vessel was glowing, the light turned into water that covered the Magi's wounds.

 _Now?_

Suddenly a blast of light was shot at the carpet that would have hit the princess if her advisor hadn't pulled her aside. Aladdin, flying on his magic turban, pointed his staff on the redhead, his face full of anger. Kougyoku tilted her head.

"Who are you?" she asked him and raised her left arm to cover her face. "So repugnant... we merely saved you and your comrades from being attacked by the monster."

"You're wrong! Ugo was fighting to protect me, to protect everyone!" the boy cried and pointed on the other Magi.

"He was the one who attacked first!"

"I see...," the princess said slowly then her expression turned cold and she glared at Aladdin.

"So you are the master of that monster then?"

She looked down on the remaining fog troopers.

"So these people down there too... are comrades of that monster?"

Ka Koubun disturbed the silence.

"What do you plan to do now, princess?"

Kougyoku waved with a light blue scaled hand.

"We have no choice but to put things back in order. Enshin! Entai! Engi!"

At her command the three djinn soldiers jumped off the carpet. Aladdin tried to hit them with his staff but they dodged and landed with loud thuds in front of the fog troupe men, giant monsters with a huge thirst for blood.

"Kill everyone!" the princes yelled and the soldiers attacked. The bandits screamed and tried to run away, Ja'far, Mor, Masrur and Alibaba pushed forward to defend. Lenka turned and ran back to help the main character; Kougyoku had faced Aladdin on the ground, smiling wickedly.

 _She is going to equip Vinea! Can we stop her?_

 _Trust the cannon._

"Spirits of sorrow and isolation," the princess chanted while the equip started to cover her upper body, scales in the color of the sea grew on her arms and the hair changed it's tone.

"I order you to gather around me, to attach yourselves to me, and impose yourself, the great djinn upon my body, Vinea!"

Suddenly Sinbad grabbed Kougyoku's right hand with the sword, pulled her away and sent his _magoi_ in the equip.

"Stop this, Miss!" he demanded. The princess stared furiously at the king, then noticed that her armor was disappearing. Her eyes widened, and she collapsed in a beautiful heap of expensive clothes and _magoi_ -drained princess.

"What..."

Lenka stepped to Aladdin and touched his shoulder.

"Relax, she is not a danger any longer."

The small Magi gave her a quick glance then looked back at the others.

"Miss, you seem to be a princess from the Kou empire," Sinbad said. Kougyoku stared at him with wide eyes.

"Who are you?"

"I'm... Sinbad," the man said, his figure illuminated by the full moon in his back while pulling her up and still not letting go of the girl's hand.

"The King of Sindria, King Sinbad."

His golden eyes stared intensively in her rose-colored and Kougyoku blushed heavily.

"So you're... you're that King Sinbad," she said slowly.

 _That man is a danger to womankind. I should have roasted him when he had touched you._

 _I know. Poor girl._

Kougyoku seemed to realize that he still held her hand and slapped him away.

"How long do you plan on holding my hand, you insolent man?" she shrieked and turned away to hide her red face that rivaled her hair.

 _Well done! Just don't get deceived by him! Vinea has raised you good!_

 _Oh, shut up, Orobas, this is not a soap opera._

 _Very close to one, very close. Wish I had snacks._

"My apologies princess," Sinbad said then raised his right hand to his hearth.

"But I had to stop you. We are people of royalty. We shouldn't have a dispute in this kind of place."

"But that child...!" she cried and pointed on Aladdin who had still his staff ready and was glaring at the girl. Sinbad faced him and said:

"Aladdin, this matter ends here. You should withdraw your staff too."

He saw that the Magi held on the golden flute and continued in a softer voice.

"It's alright. A djinn will not die from an attack of this degree. Your friend is still alive. Furthermore, it's also not your style to act on impulse and fight, isn't it?"

Aladdin looked as if he would start to cry any second. Lenka gave him a hug and whispered "Ugo is alive. Aladdin, remember what I said about being a big sister and making hard decisions for the greater good?"

He nodded slowly.

"I have to check how grave the other Magi is wounded, so I will go with them and clear things with the princess. I'll be back at latest tomorrow at nightfall."

Aladdin swallowed heavily and nodded again. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and stepped away to face him.

"Don't do anything reckless while I'm away."

"Okay, big sis Lenka."

Meanwhile Kougyoku had hid behind her sleeves again and rushed over to the carpet.

"We're returning," she said and her attendant yelped in disbelief.

"But Princess..."

"Princess Ren Kougyoku?" Lenka asked and the other girl whirled around to see who had addressed her. Her eyes appeared over her sleeves.

"What do you want?" she asked. Lenka greeted in Kou-style, causing some of the djinn soldiers to whisper.

"I am Lenka, a traveler and trained paramedic under the guidance of the Rukh. I will aid your Magi and enlighten you about what happened here, if you wish. I am no enemy to you."

The gears in the redheads head spun faster as she stared at the foreign blonde girl. Ka Koubun whined again; this tipped the scales to the other dungeon capturer's favor.

"Then go and heal him. You too, Ka Koubun. And you," she turned back to Sinbad, pointed on him and screamed:

"It's not because you said something that I'm returning now!"

* * *

Lenka kneeled down next to Judar. His injuries were severe, if nut almost fatal, but miraculously he was still alive.

 _What will you do? I'm not a healing djinn, you know?_ Orobas said. The traveler exhaled slowly.

 _Do you know some magic formula for healing?_

He told her and Lenka lifted her hands to her neck to unfasten the necklace. Ka Koubun watched her.

"What are you doing?" he asked, eyes narrowed.

"Metal vessels don't go well with magic," she answered and held her hands over the body.

 _Please, Rukh, please give me the power to save this one who chooses kings,_ she begged. The white birds that normally flew in no order around her started to gather at her hands after the mental command. After a few seconds they started to glow bright. Lenka closed her eyes.

" _Heal."_

The magic swirled from her hands into the Magi and now she was able to see where the main injuries were.

"We have to keep his heart going and fix his spine and ribs to prevent brain damage. Then the organs. If he gets weaker I might have to do CPR on him," she mused while thinking at the same time that this might be very entertaining. Being a fangirl was a hard job. The attendant and the princess stared at her in confusion.

"You do what?"

"Heart massage and breathing into his lungs to provide him with oxygen."

"Oxy-what?" Ka Koubun said distrustful and Lenka sighed.

"Air."

Kougyoku's eyes lost a bit of their cold.

"At least you seem to know what you are doing."

Lenka shrugged and poured more power into Judar. Under her hands bones connected again, fragments became something whole. After a few more minutes she was completely exhausted. When she leaned back to put the metal vessel on her vision blurred and the dungeon capturer felt something wet on her cheeks.

 _Your eyes are bleeding._

 _Yaaay! Lucky!, s_ he thought ironically.

"We have arrived," the princess said and turned to Lenka and her attendant. She blinked.

"Your eyes are bleeding."

"I know," Lenka sighed and wiped her face clean.

"I did as much as I am able to do at the moment. Judar is not in grave danger any longer, but still far from okay."

Kougyoku pursed her lips and said:

"You will stay to heal him completely."

The other girl shrugged and raised her hands.

"I will do my very best, yet it is a miracle that I was able to heal him this much."

Ka Koubun cleared his throat.

"Princess, please excuse my rudeness, but we won't be able to move the oracle to your chambers if you don't take a step to the left."

"Hmpf," Kougyoku answered and stepped from the carpet down onto the balcony then turned and gave Lenka a quick wave with her sleeve.

"Follow me."

"Right behind you," Lenka said and followed the girl inside.

* * *

Kougyoku sat down on a comfortable chair and connoted Lenka to sit across of her while a maid brought tea and sweets for them. Then she stared at the blonde that had immediately picked up her cup to take a sip. Lenka noticed her glance, tilted her head a bit then smiled.

"Excuse my rude behaviour but I'm really drained. Healing someone consumes a lot of _magoi_."

The princess nodded.

"So is that."

Lenka reached out and took a sweet. She sighed in delight.

 _At least they know how to make good food._

"This is really tasty. Local cuisine, isn't it?"

"I believe it is. Is it really this good?"

"I think so, but taste differs. So, Princess Kougyoku, feel free to ask me any question you want to ask. I'll try to answer as many as I can," Lenka said bluntly and placed her cup on the desk. The redhead blushed a little and hid behind her tea cup.

"You're very straight-forward."

Lenka grinned.

"Some call me rude and tell me that the filter between my brain and my mouth that keeps my thoughts inside is broken but I think I'm... honest. We both know that honesty is very important, so let's be fair and square. You can call me Lenka, no honorifics please."

Kougyoku nodded and grabbed the porcelain with both hands.

"Alright then. Lenka. What happened in the city? What was that... thing?"

The dimension traveler sighed.

"That thing was a djinn."

The princess blinked.

"A djinn?"

"A djinn. He belonged to the blue-haired boy that attacked you, Aladdin. He is a Magi. I'm his guard for the time being."

"A Magi?!" the other yelped.

"Yep. Actually more a puppy than a Magi at the moment, but never mind. Apparently Judar had trailed Sinbad, I mean King Sinbad, then saw Aladdin and decided to fight him. Just for fun. I tried to stop them, but Judar froze me for some minutes."

"Wait, he froze you? Why are you still alive?"

Lenka tilted her head and grinned.

"That might be another shock but I possess a fire djinn."

Kougyoku gasped for air and the other girl reached out to take her cup and place it on the table.

"Oh, don't spill something on your dress! It looks expensive. Yes, I'm a dungeon capturer. I won't harm you or anyone else in this tower. But if they're members of a certain organization with black Rukh I'll have to fight them.

Shall I go on?"

The princess shook her head very fast then slapped her cheeks.

"Yes please. I think I'm prepared for more shocks."

Lenka felt the strong urge to cuddle her but resisted.

"Okay. So, Judar froze me but I got free because of my djinn equip. Meanwhile Aladdin had summoned his djinn friend – emphasis on friend – to survive the attacks and protect the people around him. Then Judar said he wanted to kill Aladdin and the djinn attacked Judar independently and flattened him. Then you appeared and destroyed Aladdin's friend and saved your Magi. The End."

Kougyoku breathed in.

"Sou you say I killed a djinn that protected his Magi from being killed by Judar?" she said slowly. Lenka shrugged and raised her hands.

"Well, I think djinn can't die, so he is still kind of alive... somewhere."

"That's horrible!" the redhead howled and hid her mouth with her sleeves as she teared up.

"I'm horrible! The whole situation is horrible!"

"It certainly is," she agreed and ate another sweet then realized that she might comfort the other girl.

"Geez, cutie, you're not horrible," the traveler said and reached out to pat the right arm through the sleeve.

"Judar is your friend, isn't he? You protected him because it is your duty as a warrior to protect those dear to you. You should have asked them what happened and listened to the whole story, though, because, you know, Judar can be a bit... extreme to call it in a friendly way. I met him this, no, yesterday morning and he was really okay then, even though he ate my peaches. Then on the evening he had a, uhm-"

"I know what you want to say," Kougyoku asked and lowered her sleeves. "He was being a meanie and a bully. I grew up with him."

Lenka nodded.

"He punched a defenseless ten year old on the eye. That is a bit more than bullying, I would rather call it child abuse."

The princess rubbed her eyes and sighed gravely.

"I see... What a mess."

"Indeed. Do you want a sweet to calm your nerves?"

"Oh gosh, just give me the plate," the girl groaned. Kougyoku started to munch with delight while Lenka poured tea in their cups. Apparently the redhead was either a bit of a stress eater or very fond of Balbaddian goodies because they decreased rapidly. The door rattled and Ka Koubun entered.

"Princess, I have stabilized the oracle's condition- what are you doing, princess?!"

Kougyoku looked up, her cheeks round and stuffed.

"Nuthin."

"Awww so adorable!" Lenka squealed and leaned forward to hug the redhead. "You're so cute I want to eat you up!"

The princess swallowed and tilted her head to look at the blonde in slight astonishment and happiness while her adviser started to scream.

"Let go of the princess, insolent woman!"

Lenka turned to him without letting Kougyoku go to give him her death glare and was surprised how well it worked: he stopped his rambling and stared at her like a rabbit would stare at a big snake.

"For your information, I'm a dungeon capturer and the heir to a noble, influential household, so will you please stop your attempts to annoy me? And I can hug a cute girl because I'm cute as well."

Ka Koubun's face went pale and Kougyoku blushed.

"Dungeon capturer?"

"Am I really that cute?"

The traveler loosened her grip to smile at her.

"I think I'll stay here for the night. Have you ever had a sleepover guest?"

* * *

Lenka left the tower on mid-day after a very late breakfast with her new friend. Kougyoku had been very cute after they had banned the advisor from her chambers and the two of them had eaten and laughed for hours before falling asleep in a pile of blankets and pillows. Lenka had told her stories from her past life – without telling that they happened in another dimension – and her adventures in this world and they had compared what had happened to them in their dungeons. The princess talked about her life in the palace of Kou and her brothers, so they had compared their siblings as well. And then the essential topic for girls' sleepover parties came up – boys.

"That King Sinbad is a very good-looking man," Kougyoku had swarmed. Lenka had answered with an uncomfortable sound, shrugged and told her that he was indeed handsome, yet a bit shady with his objectives. But the princess had been wearing the rose-colored shades of love already so any criticism bounced away before coming too near.

Lenka had checked Judar before leaving. The Magi was still sleeping, but his injuries had been treated well by the advisor and the palace healers. Yet he was more pale than usual and his Rukh floated sleepily around him.

 _It was really strange that in your dungeon weren't any dungeon creatures, Orobas. What happened to them?_

The djinn smiled sheepishly.

 _They kind of died._

 _Seriously? No way!_

 _They weren't sick, they just died because they were too old and it was too boring to make new or keep them alive._

 _Geez. Didn't you have fire skeletons or fire spirits or something like that?_

 _Err..._

 _Forget I had asked. Looks like we're there. Do you have this odd feeling as well? As if something is crawling up your spine?_

 _This trembling of the Rukh? I'm amazed you can feel it._

 _Hey, I'm not your everyday booby girl, you know?_

Lenka landed in front of a building with a small tower and wrapped the cloth around her neck. The man standing guard nodded at her and let her inside. The indisposition grew stronger with every step she took. The girl stopped and frowned.

 _Something is really wrong._

She looked around then talked to a man passing by.

"Have you seen the boy with the long blue braid who is Alibaba's friend?"

The man's expression darkened.

"Apparently the poor guy fell ill yesterday after the battle."

A cold hand seemed to clasp her heart.

"Where is he?"

"In the upper room of the tower but-"

Lenka started to run before he had finished his sentence. Her feet stomped on the ground as she circled around the corners and along the hallways until she found the staircase to the tower. Taking three steps at once the girl raced up until she bumped into the closed wooden door. The two maids inside stared at her in disarray when she stumbled into the room, breathing heavily. She beheld the small Magi lying on the bed, pale from the exhaustion and loss of _magoi_.

Lenka threw her bag in a corner, pulled her scarf and metal vessel off, rushed forwards and placed her hands on Aladdin's head and torso, then began to pour her _magoi_ into him. Her hands started to glow with the familiar white and golden light and tiny Rukh danced through the air.

"Don't you dare to die on me, stupid little brother," she growled and doubled her concentration.

* * *

Three hours later Lenka staggered out of the Magi's chamber and downstairs. Her nose and eyes were bleeding and she had a headache as if she had drunken far too much the day before. Plus she was so hungry she could have eaten a horse. Or two. Maybe with some lemonade... wait, they probably hadn't lemonade in this world, had they? Damn, no chocolate _and_ no lemonade and her smartphone's battery was empty as well...

A door to her left opened and Ja'far, Masrur and Morgiana left the room.

"Miss Lenka, you're back," said the vizier while the fanalis girl stepped to the other to get a short hug. Lenka patted her head and looked at the other men.

"Hey there. Judar's condition is stable, Aladdin's as well. I've gotten friends with Kougyoku. Can you please give me something to eat? A big portion of something to eat. I'm very hungry. "

Masrur nodded and turned away to raid the kitchen while Ja'far led the traveler into another room. Lenka saw a chair and slumped on it with a groan. Mor sat down next to her while the ex-assassin left the door open.

"Masrur should be back in a couple of minutes."

"As long as he brings food I will forgive him anything," the dungeon capturer sighed.

"Do you want to know what I did with the Kou people? Made friends with the eight princess, Kougyoku. A real darling. Very protective of her family. Not fit to be that pig-king's woman."

Ja'far frowned.

"The eight princess of the Kou empire you said?"

Lenka yawned and rubbed her eyes. Luckily they had stopped bleeding.

"That's what I said. I told her what had happened and she was very sorry. Right now she might not be a big help I reckon, but I think she will ally with us in the future."

"Us?" the vizier asked, brows furrowed.

"Team Sindria, Team Aladdin and me."

Morgiana touched Lenka's arm.

"Alibaba is on Aladdin's team?"

The dungeon capturer nodded and smiled at the other girl.

"He is. He's Aladdin's king candidate after all, and you are their friend, so you're on their team as well. I'm my own team that joins Magi teams if the Magi have problems. Big problems."

Mor nodded as well.

"Good. Masrur is returning."

Again Lenka was impressed of the fanalis' hearing. Almost a minute later the man stepped into the room, holding a tray loaded with a bowl and a carafe which he placed in front of her.

"... here you go."

"Thank you so much," the dungeon capturer said contented and started to inhale the thin soup, the piece of bread and some dried fruit. Ja'far continued to stare at her until Lenka wiped her her mouth with the napkin and placed the spoon on the tray.

"Gosh, I'm alive again. Thank you. So, there is something you wanted to ask me, isn't it?"

The vizier nodded.

"That's right. When you-"

"Geez, that boy surely is a handful."

Sinbad stomped through the door and interrupted his general without noticing he did and ruffled his purple hair with a sigh.

"Seriously."

Then he noticed who else was in the room and started to smirk.

"Well, if this isn't our special friend."

Lenka gave him an odd look. Was he picking a fight? Was he still mad because she avoided him after the kiss?

"Are you speaking of me, King Sinbad?"

The king shrugged and sat down across the traveler then propped his chin in his palm and started to drum with the fingers of his other hand on the table, still grinning at the blonde.

"Who else allied with the Kou and their Magi?"

A cold shiver ran down Lenka's spine and she felt Mor shifting on her chair. So that was his problem.

"I haven't allied with them. I did my duty like the Rukh wanted me to do."

"They wanted you to safe that man?" Sinbad asked with grim eyes. Lenka clenched her fists in her lap and stared back.

"They did. They made me feel his agony because I was unable to stop him or Ugo."

"That's why you went with them?"

"Is this an interrogation?"

The king's gaze grew even colder.

"Answer," he demanded. The foreigner felt anger rising and straightened up. Her expression was cold and dignified now, the face of a queen.

"You should be glad I went with Ren Kougyoku and her followers. I told her what happened and she was willing to not inform her imperial father about the incident as well as to become my friend since we have similar backgrounds and beliefs. She is a pawn in this wicked game as well and she has got no ill intentions towards you, King Sinbad. I'd rather say she is fond of you and your achievements."

Sinbad blinked surprised then smirked again while Ja'far relaxed a bit and took his hands out of his sleeves.

"Is that so? What about you then? What are your intentions?"

Lenka was startled for a moment. That man... Then her anger flared up. She rose from her chair and glared down at the king.

"I'm sick of your games. I told you several times that I'm not you enemy or Sindria's or Kou's or anyone's country's. I am an enemy to those Al-Thamen lunatics and brainless idiots like the ones who think that women are inferior to them and thus deserve sexual harassment and violation. I have my duty as a guardian of the Magi. I fight to protect them and for people dear to me. And trust me, there will be a time in the future when you will be more than glad that I was here to do the job.

Let me tell you something: in two days the country of Balbadd will change, for some to the better, for others to the worse. At this time I will accompany Aladdin wherever he goes. So you better go call some of your alliance ambassadors here and get your vessels back, or else the chances for you to survive are really low. Got it?"

The traveler stepped to the door, then turned back to the king.

"Ah, for your information: I might be going to my new Kou princess friend to heal her Magi and complain about how stupid males can be, and especially what an ass you are. I will come for you if you need to be saved even if I prefer to not do it. Good bye."

* * *

 **And the next chapter finished! I was really surprised how well this worked out *gives Lenka a high five* but three more chapters until I'm done with the Balbadd Arc and then to Sindria! And in these three chapters some might find the answers they're looking for, but sorry I will keep the pairing for myself for a few more chapters – don't worry, everything is planned already *snickers eerily***

 **My younger sister recently showed me where to answer reviews -.-° so after this chapter I will definitely answer the new ones incoming! *hides in shame in the basement to cry***

 **A huge thank you to those who read, favorited, followed and/or reviewed Second Chance!**

 **Unbelievably happy,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **Once again, Magi belongs to Ohtake Shinobu, my OC to me, there might be spoilers plus references to objects, songs, games and so on _._ I use most characters names from my country's official translation so they might differ from those you're used to.**

 **Have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 7 Dealing with the situation

Sinbad stared shocked at the doorframe through which Lenka had left a second before. The young woman had pushed the door close so forceful that she had broken it out of the wall. Apparently she was really angry now. He leaned back and sighed while rubbing his eyes.

"Damn it."

Masrur stepped forward, picked the door up and leaned it against the brick stones to create the illusion of a tidy room while Ja'far sighed deeply.

"You overdid it again, Sin."

The king frowned.

"I did not-"

A loud cracking sound interrupted him and he turned around just to see the fanalis girl and the aura of death she gave off.

"Oh, Morgiana, I didn't notice you were here."

"... Lenka tried to help you when she left with them."

Sinbad scratched his head and sighed again.

"I thought so."

"Yet he couldn't believe she was this honest and came back without ulterior motives or as a spy after he had tried to approach her in an inappropriate way," Ja'far continued his king's sentence who shrugged and admitted:

"That's what I thought."

Morgiana's right eye twitched and the black aura intensified. Suddenly he was very glad that he had Masrur and Ja'far with him.

"Lenka never told us lies. She said what she would do and did it."

Then she stepped to the door as well, her feet leaving cracks in the floor. There she turned around, taking exact the same posture as the young woman that had left before.

"It was Lenka who suggested to kidnap Alibaba. I think she planned all of this to save as many citizens of Balbadd as possible and to avoid something terrible. Something really bad must have happened to her in her past to make her act like she does. That's why you should give her a second chance."

With this words the girl disappeared. Sinbad growled and ruffled his hair then hit the plate with his head and mumbled some unintelligible words that were probably curses.

"Ja'far?"

"Sin?"

"Keep me away from alcohol for a while."

"I'll do my very best."

* * *

Lenka was so furious that her steps burned the dirt under her feet and hence she left a smoking trail in the streets of Balbadd. The few who crossed her path took one glance at her just to hurry back in the direction where they had come from to not get roasted, especially after she had punched a hole in a half-crumbling wall in her fury.

 _I should have killed him that day,_ Orobas growled and the young woman sighed.

"No. He should stay alive to prevent people from dying."

 _Stuuupid!_

She snickered and turned into a narrow alley that led her further into the slums. The sun started to set and the clouds turned orange, red and pink. Peachy colors. This made her remember Judar and she sighed deeply.

"This situation is really stupid."

 _You're not at fault. You did what our dear Solomon wanted you to do._

"No one else here understands that. Except the djinn," the traveler answered and climbed on crates that were piled in the form of a pyramid against a house wall then on the roof. Walking up here was much more interesting because she could train her reflexes when slipping or jumping from building to building.

" _Assassins Creed_ real life version," she joked when throwing one of her daggers in a wooden scantling a washing line was connected with, then did a flic-flac forward to overcome the chasm between two houses.

"For your information, _Assassins Creed_ is a game from my world," she explained her joke to the djinn while pulling the knife out of the pole and sheathing it.

"I quite like it."

 _Is that so? Hey, I can somehow feel Amon's presence. That Whateverbaba must be somewhere below us. Want to greet him?_

 _You bet._

Lenka stopped and listened to the wind then ran silently over the roofs to the source of the noises she heard. At the edge of one she scrunched down and peeked at the street. Alibaba stood a few meters away while Cassim was in front of him and some of his closest followers waited behind their leader, as well as a man with dark hair, a white long dress and a scarf that covered the face under the eyes and a turban-like headdress.

 _Al-Thamen,_ Orobas growled and Lenka felt his wrath. She grinned with excitement and stood up.

 _Let's do it._

Apparently Cassim had punched Alibaba a second before, because he was saying the famous last words "The next time we will meet we are enemies."

"Aha! And I thought you would keep the act up longer," Lenka said loud and jumped down, landed swiftly and ambled slowly towards the surprised men. The Al-Thamen mage turned back to escape the situation just to find himself in a cage made of nearly invisible white flames.

 _Purifying Cage,_ snickered the djinn.

"Miss Lenka?" Alibaba asked astonished, "I thought you were with-"

"Sinbad," the other man growled and pulled his black mist sword out of nowhere while his followers rustled around them. The traveler made a face and snorted.

"Sinbad. Perverted stupid king. First class git, if you ask me."

Alibaba's and Cassim's jaws dropped at once.

"Huh?"

Lenka grinned contemptuous.

"He is a lecherous moron who only cares for himself and his country and I'm very shirty now, so don't test my patience any more or you will experience something nasty."

"So you're not an ally of his?" the fog troupe's leader asked with a hopeful glint in his eyes. She stared at him with a cold expression.

"I am not. And I won't be the ally of a war-hungry freak like you as well."

He gasped for air yet the traveler simply walked by to smirk at Alibaba.

"I really pity Amon. Poor djinn who got stuck with a guy that is not able to use even weapon equip after more than half a year... And yet too proud to ask the ones who can do for advice."

Alibaba gaped at her in horror.

"W-What did you say?"

"Surprised? You know I have a duty to do, don't you? Protect the ones choosing kings and..."

She stepped forward so fast that no one could follow her movements.

"Kill people like him," she said and, in the same move punched the Al-Thamen guy on the other side of the flame wall in the face. The nose broke under the impact with a satisfying crushing sound, his head flew back while blood turned the scarf he wore crimson red. Alibaba screamed in surprise and shock, Cassim as well but she ignored them, her expression a manic grin. Her left fist hit the man's temple while the other punched him in the guts. She started to laugh, a fierce, mad sound that echoed with another persons voice.

"This is great!"

The mage staggered back and came in contact with the flames. His clothes didn't burn but the flesh of his leg started to melt like hot wax and he screamed in surprise and pain.

"Scream more!"

Her punches were like the fire of a machine gun, fast and hard.

"More!"

Blue scales grew up her arms, turning her jabs even heavier.

" _Fiend!"_

Wrath flooded through her body like fire, not only hers but that of her djinn as well.

" _Answer me!"_

Their voices merged and turned into one, not male nor female. The man coughed, spat blood while bones cracked under the vicious blows he received.

" _Why did you betray our king?!"_

Their fist hit his chin, the head flew back and with a loud _snap_ the spine broke. The corpse slumped and turned under a flashing light into a small doll that fell on the ground, jumped up and rolled to the shocked fog troupers.

Lenka/Orobas growled and picked the clay figurine up.

" _Filthy doll soldier."_

"That was a nice work-out. I'm so glad we decided to come to this place," she said then stretched her arms and yawned sleepily.

Cassim was the first one to recover from the shock.

"You killed him!" he screamed, his followers awoke from their terrified state and pointed their weapons on the traveler who snorted while shooting a nasty glare at anyone who dared to come too close.

"As if. This was just a clone. You have to find the original body to kill those madmen for real. Another clone will appear in a few hours. Well then," she pulled her magic scarf off and jumped on the hovering cloth.

"See you at the finale, guys."

The last words she heard through the roaring wind was Cassim cursing her and his once best friend to death. Lenka sighed while putting the doll into her bag. Her rage had vanished faster than it appeared – as it always did – and now she simply felt melancholic and empty.

"Destiny won't change for you, poor boy."

* * *

"Kougyoku! I'm back!" Lenka shouted through the open window of the royal chambers. The red haired girl looked up from her dinner then pouted at the other.

"You're late. I was really bored."

"Aw, poor girl," she grinned, climbed into the room and petted her friend's head.

"Did Ka Koubun scold you? For becoming friends with me?"

The princess puffed her cheeks with pride.

"He did, but I send him to the djinn soldiers to look after them. He won't be back for another hour, I suppose."

Lenka sweat-dropped at the thought of the poor devil of an advisor who had gone against the strong-willed Kougyoku and was now somewhere on the palace grounds with the vicious djinn soldiers who would kill anyone who breathed in the wrong second and sent a prayer to Solomon to bring the man back alive. Speaking of alive...

"Cutie, I'll go and look after Judar for a second, okay? I'll be right back."

The redhead nodded and pointed on the door leading out of her dining room.

"You know, the first door to the left. Bye!"

The traveler winked and left the room with a big grin on her face. When reading the _manga_ back in London she had thought of the Ren princess as a stupid cold selfish bitch at first but after the Sindria arc she had started to quite like her. And the Kougyoku she had met now was a really good child and actually very gentle even though she had quite the temper.

She hummed with pleasure as she stepped into the dark room where the Magi laid on his bed behind a room divider. He was still pale but more Rukh fluttered lazily around him. Lenka frowned.

"There are more black ones here now. Well, it's not like I don't like the colour, but these depraved Rukh look like the gangster version of the white ones. And yet there are still not enough for you to recover. Seems like I have to give you special treatment again, doesn't it?" she told the unconscious Judar while taking off her metal vessel, stuffing it into her pocket and placing her hands on his forehead and chest. Once again she became aware of his nice features and well-defined muscles, although he was a bit too skinny for her taste. Too bad that he was on the dark side...

 _Please please don't continue this thought. For my mental sanity. For yours. Please. Don't._

 _That was solely for me, you idiot._

 _Too scarring. Give him the_ magoi _and leave before you get more of this ideas._

"Yes mom. Here we go then."

Lenka exhaled, closed her eyes and commanded her _magoi_ to flow from her hands into his body while thinking of good memories. The songs of the blackbirds in the morning that would wake her up in summer... the smell of the earth after a light rain... the sunlight that shone on her siblings that played at the shore, their joyful laughter filling the air...

 _Get well soon,_ she thought while opening her eyes and taking a step back and reached in her pocket.

 _Lenka! The fiend! Behind you!_

The woman whirled around, flicked her wrist to wrap the necklace around her arm and switched to attack stance in the same move to stare at a man with strange coulored hair and goatee who wore a checkered mask that covered his upper face, white robes and the staff he held. Apparently he had entered through the open balcony while she had poured her _magoi_ into Judar.

" _Ithnaan!"_

The corners of his mouth turned upwards at her low hiss.

"So you heard of me already."

She wrinkled her nose and bared her teeth.

"I won't attack as long as you won't. I would rather not fight here with Judar and Kougyoku this near. None of them deserve to be pawns in your game."

He tilted his head.

"You are... clever. Yet you don't know much about this game, woman."

"I think you are the one who is unaware of the other, Ithnaan who was once Solomon's friend and one of the holders of the divine staffs," she grinned with cold eyes. He didn't flinch yet his Rukh told that she had startled him, even though they were black and filthy.

"That is... interesting. So you are... the warrior," he said slowly, his glance glued to her face.

She shrugged then gave up her stance.

"I might be anyone. Fact is that I won't attack you when I'm clearly in the worse position. Plus Judar won't wake up for now to help you or me. Let's keep the good face up and continue this masquerade, won't we?"

Ithnaan smirked.

"You really are exceptional. I think I seem to understand why Solomon brought you here."

"You don't," she deadpanned. "Let me ask one last question."

"Well, what would it be?" he answered with a slight chuckle.

" _Why did you betray our king?"_

Ithnaan stared at her, or so it seemed. Thanks to the mask and the fact that he stood in the shadows Lenka couldn't see his expression yet she noticed the sudden change in his Rukh that fluttered nervously around him.

"Ah, you see," he said and stepped forward. Lenka held her ground until the fallen man stood only half an arm's length away from her. He smiled a little, then grabbed a strand of her golden hair and let it run through his fingers. She didn't move an inch but continued to stare at him.

"That I can't tell you, warrior."

Ithnaan touched her cheek with two fingers, leaving a black Rukh there which turned white and fluttered away. He chuckled with amusement.

"Your Rukh is this pure yet you have such a past. A pity you won't fall and join us."

Then he tilted his head slightly, grinned and turned back to the balcony.

"I'll see you on another battlefield then."

The fallen disappeared in a vortex of black Rukh and left a speechless Lenka in the room.

"What the fuck was this?"

 _I'd say he was interested in you._

She snorted, closed the balcony door and left the room.

"As if."

 _For real, I really think so. First the idiot king, then the fallen Magi and now Ithnaan, not to mention every other male or female you met had a certain interest in you. Do you emit special pheromones or-_

"Shut up!" Lenka yelled, "I did nothing! It's Sinbad x Ja'far, Alibaba x Mor x Hakuryuu, Kougyoku x Judar and Lenka x her duty as Solomon's warrior! I don't want a relationship with someone nor I will have one! I stay neutral! Why does nobody get that?!"

Lenka stood in the hallway, breathing heavily after her outburst. Orobas was silent. She straightened up, ruffled her hair with both hands and sighed gravely. Her fuse was really short today. Hopefully this wouldn't continue or-

"Lenka?"

She flinched and turned to Kougyoku who stood in the door frame to her room. He lower lip trembled a bit and she looked quite frightened. The blonde sighed again then covered her face with her hands for a few seconds.

"Sorry. I had quite the hard day. Sharing _magoi_ with two Magi is exhausting, then having fights with Sinbad, using a fiend as punching bag and dealing with Ith- never mind. I'm a mess."

The princess swallowed, then stepped forward and patted her friends shoulder.

"I see."

Lenka exhaled again then gave the other a weak smile.

"I would murder for dinner and a bath and sleep. Not you, though."

Kougyoku smiled too.

"I think I can arrange something."

Both looked up as a man in once glamorous and now quite tattered robes staggered around the corner and in the hallway, wearing a horrified expression as if he had seen hell and would never get the pictures out of his head.

"My, Ka Koubun, you're back already. Could you please go and order some maids to prepare a bath and food for Lenka here? And what happened to your clothes?"

 _Never mess with a Ren princess,_ Lenka thought.

* * *

"So, why are there even more black Rukh than before, peach boy?" Lenka asked the sleeping Judar the next morning while staring annoyed at the floating birds. Kougyoku tugged at her friends vest.

"Are there really more black Rukh? Is this bad?"

"It actually is very bad," Lenka said and poked one of them.

"Purify."

The Rukh made a chirping sound, went white and then slowly back to black.

"Are you kidding me? Purify. Purify. _Purify!_ "

"It doesn't seem like it is working, right?"

"Ithnaan that bugger," growled the traveler and cracked her knuckles.

"He deserves a good old fashioned beating with a crowbar."

"What is a crowbar?" asked the princess with a giggle and Lenka gave her a smirk.

"Something really nasty."

Kougyoku snickered, then looked a bit depressed at the other.

"Are you sure you have to go? We could spend the day training with our djinn equip and eating and dressing up."

Lenka shook her head and patted her friends arm.

"No, I have to go and look after Aladdin too. He is a Magi as well and I'm here to take care of them, am I not?"

The princess sighed.

"Yes... but I will be really bored until you come back..."

"You can pick the dresses you want me to wear later," Lenka suggested, and the others eyes lit up.

"Oh, that would be great! Then you can get your clothes washed in a proper way."

"I am glad we didn't burn them. Getting them wet with Vinea's help was easy, but drying them with pure flames... I think I'll come back earlier then."

Kougyoku nodded in agree.

"That's a good idea. I'll have some maids prepare food until then."

"Geez, why don't you marry me? We would be a great couple. I go and beat the bad guys up and you join me occasionally to have them feel true despair. Then we go home, dress up and have dinner. "

The princess chuckled.

"Two girls can't marry."

"In my world they can, and adopt children as well. And they can do everything."

"Your world seems like a fine place to live then," Kougyoku sighed. Lenka hugged her.

"When I'm back I tell you more about it while you dress me up, okay?"

"Okay!"

The blonde grinned and stepped on her magic cloth.

"Bye then!"

* * *

The Rukh led Lenka to the ruins of the fog troupes hideout while swirling around her as if she needed an embrace and they were trying to give her one. Columns of red and orange flames shot to the sky when Alibaba tried to manage a djinn equip and failed. Lenka smiled. The scenery reminded her of her first tries to do an equip as well. Apparently her visit yesterday changed his mind about asking for help. So he wasn't that stupid, just... Alibaba. Suddenly the flames died and the boy slumped down to catch his breath. Lenka frowned.

 _Should I go down there now?_

 _I think you can._

She nodded and let the cloth float down.

"Hey there."

Sinbad and Alibaba turned to her; the younger flinched and stepped back a few inches. Sinbad smiled.

"Hello Lenka."

 _Aw, come on!_

She cleared her throat and pulled the clay figurine out of her bag to hand it to him.

"I brought you a souvenir. Hope you like it."

His eyes widened then he started to laugh. Alibaba stared at him in confusion while the tension in Lenka crumbled. The king shook his head then grinned at her.

"I'm truly sorry as well for suggesting you would betray your friends and for approaching you in such an ungraceful manner. I want to apologise and thus offer you-"

"You don't need to offer me anything," interrupted the girl, "just stop assuming that I would break my oaths and friendships. And I don't mind the kiss, it was just very startling."

Sinbad chuckled and gave her the doll back.

"I'll do my best. By the way, could you help me with Alibaba's training? It's better to have a second opinion on this things."

"Wow, you're making real progress, King Sinbad," Lenka joked and turned to Alibaba.

"Well then, I think you still have questions, haven't you?"

Alibaba lowered the water bag and nodded.

"I don't get what he means by compressing the djinn's power within my own body."

Lenka blinked then tilted her head.

"Well... that's difficult. Maybe it's different with every djinn. I chat very much with Orobas, that's why when I do an equip it feels like the connection between us deepens. I just give him more control and that results in changing into a spirit of fire and purity. It's kind of, I can't describe it better, a fusion."

He stared at her in awe.

"Your djinn talks to you? I haven't spoke to Amon since the dungeon capturing."

Sinbad cleared his throat.

"My djinn speak to me occasionally yet Lenka's djinn is much more active. He even materializes in this world what means she has way more _magoi_ than a normal human. Normally only Magi have enough energy to give a djinn's metal vessel physical form, like Aladdin did with his. Lenka is no Magi, that's why she uses the equip to fight as every other dungeon capturer does.

Lenka mentioned the word 'fusion'; that's a good comparison. By possessing yourself with the djinn's powers and assimilating with those powers you will obtain the same power as the materialized djinn. And that's what you call enveloping yourself with the djinn's power, or simply put, 'djinn equip'!"

Lenka nodded in agree. Sinbad smiled at her and continued.

"After succeeding in 'djinn equip' you will possess the same outward appearance as your djinn. That princess djinn is probably something close to a fish."

"I think Vinea looks a bit more like a snake than fishy."

The two men burst out in laughter before Lenka realized what she had said and blushed.

"That was not what I wanted to say!"

Sinbad wiped his eyes then turned to Alibaba.

"Your _magoi_ should be restored by now. Remember what Lenka and I told you and try activating your djinn equip."

The young man nodded and gripped his dagger with both hands.

"However, a full body djinn equip is probably impossible."

"That's true," Lenka agreed, "If you haven't trained for the equip before and simply shot flames it's almost impossible to do the full equip right now. It took me six days after clearing the dungeon to do a weapon equip, and eleven more for the full body equip."

Sinbad and Alibaba stared at her with big eyes.

"Six," the king repeated amazed then grinned.

"And you knew what to do?"

Lenka nodded.

"Yes, but my problem was that the djinn saw how much _magoi_ I could have had IF I was born here and not in my world. I had to wait this long because the Rukh had to give me the _magoi_ I didn't possess. That's why I get stronger every day and can do a simple kind of _magoi_ manipulation already, because this power is foreign to me. It's like a child that learns to walk, it get's better every day."

"For real? That's very interesting and also a bit frightening. I had to learn for months with the Yambala tribe to master _magoi_ manipulation and you can do this yet already."

Lenka shrugged.

"I just asked the Rukh and Orobas for advice. Wait, if I rethink the me right now is becoming really Mary Sue-y right now. Really overpowering. A standard character. Easy to read. Perfect. That's bad. Really bad. I don't want to be standard."

"Wait a second," Alibaba said and waved with his dagger at her.

"I didn't get all of this. What's the weapon equip? And what about you not being born in this world? And what is this Mary thing you think that is so bad?"

Lenka started to laugh when she saw their confused faces.

 _They must think you're insane._

 _At least a little mad._

She wiped her eyes and inhaled a few times to calm down.

"Have you seen Kougyoku's metal vessel change into a sword?"

Alibaba nodded.

"Well, that's weapon equip," Sinbad continued, "the place nearest to the djinn is the easiest to equip."

"Look, it's like this," Lenka said and unfastened her necklace to show Alibaba the jewel with the eight-pointed star.

"Then I give Orobas a mental poke,"

 _I get it,_ the djinn sighed.

The necklace slowly turned into the blue and white saber and scales grew up to her elbows.

"Ta-daa!" Lenka cheered and did a few quick lunges and parrys.

"It's a little inconvenient that Orobas settled in the necklace, but it's much easier to hide under the scarf than a sword."

" _Hey!"_ the djinn said and materialized. Alibaba yelped and stumbled back while Sinbad frowned as the equip wore off and Orobas rose to a size three times bigger than a human. The djinn possessively wrapped his arms around Lenka and pouted.

" _You know that the necklace was given to me by our precious guardian. I won't move unless it's destroyed."_

Lenka patted his arm.

"I know, dear, but I think having a sharp or spiky vessel is more convenient. A necklace has other assets, hasn't it?"

Alibaba had recovered from the shock and took a careful step forward. Orobas instantly stared at him with his golden eyes, causing Alibaba to flinch.

" _I see. Poor Amon. I'm glad that Lenka is my queen. At least she knows what to do when it comes to using the power of_ magoi _and Rukh."_

The young man blushed ashamed and looked down at his metal vessel. Sinbad cleared his throat.

"You know it's rude to-"

" _Hear the king of rude behavior talk,"_ Orobas sneered, _"You know how to do it the right way. Suspecting an innocent of treason because she told you she'd go with another metal vessel user to clear things up when their Magi was nearly flattened to death. Way to go. I seriously consider Lenka should stay with the Kou princess already. This girl has manners."_

Lenka gave him a clout.

"Stop being such a prick. Can you return to the vessel please?"

" _My queen,"_ he nodded and disappeared. Lenka suppressed a giggle when she saw that Sinbad looked as if he had bitten on something sour while Alibaba had miraculously recovered from his humiliated state after witnessing the High King's treatment. She waved at them to get their attention and bowed like an actor at the end of the play.

"So that was a weapon equip and then an unintended djinn materialization. Thank you for paying attention and please don't try this at home!"

* * *

 **And the seventh chapter is out for the public! Two more until the Balbadd arc is finished *Lenka throws confetti* and we go to Sindria! I finally know how to answer reviews – except guest reviews, you can't answer them, can you?**

 **Yeah, well, a bit violence in this chapter *Lenka whistles innocently*, but hey, the rating is M and the series is pretty violent too! Hehe. There will be more mature content as the story proceeds so be warned. Or are you probably waiting for that? *winks and blushes*  
**

 **Thank you so much for your support! Thank you to everyone who has read, favorited, followed and/or reviewed! You are awesome!**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **Once again, Magi belongs to Ohtaka Shinobu, my OC to me, there might be spoilers plus references to objects, songs, games and so on _._ I use most characters names from my country's official translation so they might differ from those you're used to.**

 **Have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 8 Dealing with Balbadd

"Well, even after my intense care he won't wake up," Lenka sighed and poked Judar's cheek. The palace doctor nodded and scratched his long nose.

"If you would allow to have him drink a potion consisting of lamb kidney and-"

"Kidneys aren't a medical ingredient!" Lenka yelled. "Herbs are! Healing spells are even better! Don't you dare to feed the oracle kidneys!"

"And the leeches!"

"I thought medieval doctors used leeches when their patient had a fever, even though the better thing would have been to give them more water and cool towels on the forehead? When I come back and you did some of your crap to him I feed you to the djinn soldiers!"

The man looked displeased but Lenka ignored his glare and left the room.

"Well, hello there Miss. Are you a guest?"

A man who undoubtedly looked like belonging to Al-Thamen grinned at her. Lenka wasn't sure if his mismatching eyes were looking at her or not. That guy was really creepy, as in really _really_ creepy.

"I successfully convinced the physician not to feed him kidney," she informed him with a shrug.

"By the way, you should better go to the pig king and see what you can do to throw Balbadd in more chaos, shouldn't you?"

The man opened his mouth, closed it then turned to walk back to the main palace. Lenka grinned then shouted at his back:

"And tell that git Ithnaan 'Lovely greetings' from me!"

The man flinched and disappeared.

 _Why didn't you kill him?_

 _Not in the right mood. He might be useful._

 _Useful? Are you planning on using Al-Thamen?!_

 _No, they are a pack of lunatics, all of them. They aren't even useful as fertilizer, aren't they?_

 _They are good for relieving aggression,_ Orobas mused. _You can punch them to death and then they come again._

 _They are re-spawning punching bags. Too bad that they don't drop gold or magic tools._

 _What?_

 _If I ever get my phone to work again I introduce you to the world of MMORPG for sure. Trust me, you will never be the same._

… _why can't I keep my trap shut?_

 _There must be a reason why Ugo teleported me to your dungeon, isn't it? Maybe to cure your big mouth and overcautious, possessive, whiny personality._

 _I'm not whiny! You are a meanie!_

Chuckling Lenka entered the princess' chamber where Kougyoku was sitting at the table drinking a cup of tea. Her eyes started to sparkle the instant the traveler came in sight and she smiled wide.

"Lenka! You're back!"

"Again," she confirmed and sat down to pour herself a cup of tea. "Sorry that it took me so long to come back yesterday."

The princess waved the excuse aside.

"Well, you came back early enough for beauty treatment and a bath, so it's no big deal."

Lenka smiled behind her tea cup. Kougyoku strongly resembled Micaela. Both were maniacs when dressing her up and both girl's styles were extremely extreme: the princess had layered her in twelve – twelve! – kimonos while Mica used her as a model for her _cosplay_ costumes. She couldn't tell how many hours she had spent in her friends studio to be dressed up as _Sailor Moon_ or in a frilly gothic lolita dress while watching the newest episode of _Naruto_ or _Fairy Tail_.

"By the way," Lenka placed her cup on the table and pulled her pad and a ballpoint pen out of her bag, "I want to write you letters so that we won't loose contact. Can you please note down your name so that I won't make spelling mistakes?"

Kougyoku beamed.

"I'd love to write you! I rarely receive letters from other girls in my age group, so yes!"

Lenka grinned brightly and opened the pad. The princess blinked.

"Parchment?"

"Paper. It's the next generation of parchment based on, er, I don't know exactly on what but not on animal skin."

"Why are there so many lines?" the princess asked and carefully touched the sheet with a finger, then grabbed the pen and inspected it.

"Is that a quill then?"

"A ballpoint pen. Press this end-"

"Oh, I see! Did you get this in a dungeon? It's fascinating."

And here the moment of decisions was. Lenka frowned at the princess's bright smile then sighed.

"Actually it's not from this world nor from a dungeon."

Kougyoku's eyes widened.

"Not from this world?"

Lenka swallowed.

"I'm a dimension traveller. I was brought here by the Rukh to protect the Magi and banish the abnormalities from this world."

Kougyoku's jaw fell open and her gaze switched between Lenka, the pen and the door. Then she caught herself and inhaled and exhaled for a few seconds.

"Okay. When I think about it it's not that big a shock. Your actions were quite strange from the beginning with, but when you were brought here by the Rukh most things make sense now."

Now it was Lenka's jaw that fell open.

"Huh? Why that?"

The redhead leaned back and smirked.

"Your strange accent. The people from Reim haven't got one like you do. And most words you use and the manner of speaking. Your knowledge about injuries. The way you travel back and forth between the two Magi to make sure they are okay. Your djinn who is more a friend or brother to you and the way you talk with him and Vinea. And when you were in the bath yesterday I checked your bag and found the most fascinating clothes I've seen until now, completely different from Kou's or Balbadd's. Plus the shoes-"

"Okay, I get it!" Lenka said and raised her hands to stop the monologue then smiled.

"Can you still trust me?"

Kougyoku puffed her cheeks.

"Of course I do! When you only protect the Magi you can't fight a war with one without endangering another, that's why you're no danger to me as well!"

Lenka hugged her tightly.

"Thank you. You are the first one to understand this completely."

Kougyoku patted her back until she sat down again and grabbed the pad, then doodled a bit with the pen.

"That's easy. And no spilling."

"Well, they can spill, but not very often. Take care of your sleeves."

The princess nodded then started to draw signs that strongly resembled Chinese kanji then held up the pad.

"That's my name. Ren, my surname, Kou and Gyoku and – your face tells me you are surprised. Don't you write like that?"

Lenka shook her head as Kougyoku handed her pen and paper and started to write her own name.

"Marlene-Karen Sensenmacher. Lenka."

The redheads eyes sparkled.

"Fascinating! I would have written your name like this."

She drew a few more kanji under her friends name.

"Oh dear. Looks like I have to learn your writing. And probably your language as well. I think the Rukh casted a spell on me so that I could communicate with you."

Kougyoku's face fell.

"Oh dear."

"Well, we can still talk through pictures."

Lenka turned over then started to draw stick figures.

"Sorry but my drawings are really bad. I get you another pen."

Giggling they filled the page with their doodles, then Lenka carefully separated the sheet and handed it to her friend.

"Here you go."

Kougyoku beamed like the sun and hugged the blonde then jumped to one of her three clothes chests.

"I'll keep it forever!"

Lenka laughed at her joy then tilted her head.

"Do you hear that noise too or is it just me?"

The princess closed the chest then ambled to the window.

"There is a huge crowd outside the palace walls... and a crate in the first plaza."

Lenka jumped up.

"Oh god, I almost forgot it was today. Listen, the blonde guy that was the friend of my Magi Aladdin is the third prince and wanted to do something against the suffering. Apparently he entered the palace to make his brother rethink. Your marriage will probably not take place."

Kougyoku jumped then made a shocked face.

"But the treaty-"

"You know you'll be better without it, dear."

The door banged open and Ka Koubun rushed in.

"Princess, there is-"

"A revolt I suppose," Kougyoku said and her attendant nodded. She glanced at Lenka.

"Will you come with me as guard?"

"I have called your soldiers already, Princess."

"Of course. Now switch into princess mode and have them quiver under your words."

They chuckled and left the room with Ka Koubun on their heels.

* * *

The throne hall was vast and marvelous – if you ignored the bloody stain and the hole the dead soldier had left in the marble floor and carpet where the djinn soldiers had flattened him. Kougyoku entered the room in full princess mode, her expression cool and dignified, an imperial highness to the bone. Lenka at her left side wore the same expression, but had actually a hard time to not burst out in laughter.

 _Look cool and royal, Lenka._

 _I do my very best but this is so hilarious!_

 _You are a hopeless person._

"What exactly is this commotion about?" Kougyoku said and the noise suddenly died as if she had switched a radio off. Everyone was staring at her with fear and shock, except Alibaba who looked rather determined.

"We came here upon hearing the commotion," the princess continued, "I am the eight imperial princess of the Kou empire, Ren Kougyoku, King Ahbmad's betrothed wife."

 _Not for much longer_ , Orobas smiled.

Kougyoku calmly let her gaze wander over the crowd.

"My apologies, but I haven't seen his face even once. Exactly which of you is the king of this country?"

"That would be me!" Ahbmad shrieked from his place on the floor. The princess paled visibly then her face darkened and she looked down.

"... I see."

"Well, you see," the man with the mismatching eyes that Lenka had scared off this morning said, "Princess... we don't know who the king of this country is."

Everyone except Lenka stared at him in surprise as he continued:

"Only just now the third prince and deputy king caused a coup d'etat and King Ahbmad is to step down. The next king of this country is yet to be decided..."

Ahbmad started to shriek at the man while Lenka watched her friend thinking then glared at the Al-Thamen mage.

"Whoever it is, I don't really care," Kougyoku said, "The order I wad given from my country was to 'marry the 'King of Balbadd' in order to conclude the treaty'. It doesn't matter who the king is and so please choose your new king quickly."

 _I could never be that brave,_ Lenka thought. _Marrying someone I don't know... me running away from such an engagement was one of the reasons I got teleported here I reckon._

 _You grew up in a different environment yet I couldn't marry a complete stranger as well. The other was to cure your personality?_

 _You're a djinn. And_ no _, my personality is just_ fine _or should that be payback for my comment a while ago?  
_

 _I know! I mean, no, no payback, I like the way you are, I really do! You're great! Please don't be mad!_

She inwardly shook her head at her djinn's babble and sent her friend a few encouraging Rukh so she could overcome the nerve-wrecking next minutes where the men debated who would be king until everyone stared at Alibaba. Kougyoku tilted her head.

"You will be the new king of Balbadd?" she asked. Alibaba took his time with his answer.

"I will not become the king of this country."

Now it was the dungeon capturer who everyone stared at in more or less surprise. Lenka tried not you yawn. Then she noticed something and closed her eyes. The flow of the Rukh was somehow erratic, they flew to two points in the city of Balbadd. One was right behind her, in the tower she left minutes ago. And the other was in the outskirts of the city.

 _Oh dear, the Magi._

 _They will wake up soon I reckon. And then they will wreck havoc._

 _In situations like these I miss my brother._

 _You have a brother?_

 _A twin brother, Orias. He is a djinn as well. The relationship between our parents was a bit complicated, they were the chiefs of two different tribes who fell in love with each other._

 _And Solomon made both of you djinn?_

 _He did, because I led the warrant part of our clan and Orias was the scientist. He worked a lot with Ugo._

 _Is that so? Maybe we can get a Magi to tell us where his dungeon is or to raise it for us._

 _That would be more than great._

"I want you to destroy it."

 _Hey, Lenka, we have missed the next shocker the lad throws in._

 _Let them be. We have more important things to do._

She opened her eyes again and stared at the Al-Thamen guy. And stared and stared.

 _Go away you..._

 _I don't think this will work..._

The man flinched, glanced at her then back at the speaker. Lenka sighed then concentrated on Alibaba. Her death glare had been deadlier.

 _I tooold you..._

 _Please don't sing, Orobas._

"I want to devote my existence to Balbadd...! To make Balbadd an outstanding republic citizen state! That is what I've come here to do!" he yelled.

 _Applause boy,_ the djinn snickered.

"My my... so that is your answer? Alibaba..." a voice sounded over the commotion and Sinbad appeared, together with ambassadors from his alliance. Kougyoku instantly blushed when seeing the king.

"I understand that I am interrupting a matter of great importance to the country, please excuse me," he said while walking over the literally red carpet up to them.

"I have arrived late. No, you didn't need our help in the first place, Alibaba."

 _Oh, magnificent conclusion!_ Orobas howled. He really seemed to loathe the man. The crowd started to murmur as they saw the ambassadors so Sinbad introduced the two men and the woman from his allied countries.

 _At least he was clever enough to call for them after you had told him he would need them._

 _Yes, he is clever, that for sure, or he wouldn't have become High King._

Lenka calmly watched the plot unfold further while keeping an eye on the Rukh as well. Their chirping grew gradually louder and then calmed, as if they were waves rushing ashore.

"I think leaving this case to his majesty to settle would be for the best," Kougyoku said and gave Lenka a glance who nodded and smiled at her. The princess turned back to Sinbad and pointed on him.

"But we will have conditions for our withdrawal. For the case of Balbadd being truly included into the Alliance of the Seven Seas you, King of Sindria, must personally come to the emperor. And show us proof."

Sinbad nodded.

"I will definitely pay a visit."

"That will it be!" Kougyoku said loudly then rushed to the exit. Lenka grinned at Sinbad, bowed then followed the princess out of the hall.

"You did it, Kougyoku! That was really amazing. You'll certainly become a great queen someday."

She grinned at the blonde.

"As long as I wont be that pig's queen everything is fine."

Lenka touched her arm.

"According to my knowledge of the future he will come to Kou and then you will have a reason to visit Sindria. I think I can manage to be there too, so we will eat exotic fruits and sweets with pure conscience."

Kougyoku chuckled as they stepped up the staircase to the tower.

"As far as I have witnessed until now your predictions are really accurate."

"I think so too. Oh, and when Sinbad travels to Kou and I already know enough of your signs and language I'll give him a letter for you, so you have a reason to speak with him."

Kougyoku blushed and Ka Koubun yelped.

"What insolence, to think of such things! You should be punished!"

Lenka stared at the man.

"I came to simple conclusions, didn't I? Sinbad is a bachelor. Kougyoku will not get married to that pig king. She seems to like Sinbad. An alliance between Sindria and Kou would be fortunate for you, won't it?"

The princess laughed then ordered her men to carry her luggage to the flying carpet while her advisor seemed to rethink something. Then she looked at her friend.

"Will you stay here and watch Judar?"

"Of course I will."

"If you have troubles, you can ask the 'banker' too. He is a servant to the Kou empire."

Lenka shuddered.

"Mismatching eyes and mustache guy? I don't think so. He is creepy."

Kougyoku chuckled then hugged her friend tightly.

"I will miss you."

"Mhm. I'll make sure to write you."

"That I hope!"

They grinned at each other, then the door opened and Ka Koubun cleared his throat.

"Princess, the men are ready. We can leave now."

Lenka accompanied her friend to the carpet and waved as they flew away. Kougyoku waved for a few seconds then a her attendant asked her something and she concentrated on him. Lenka smiled and said to herself:

"Until we meet again."

Then she turned, picked up her bagpack and walked straight into the Magi's chamber. When she found only the doctor who had wanted to give the Magi kidneys and a unconscious Judar but no Al-Thamen guys she ambled back to the throne room. Unfortunately she got lost twice until a maid told her which corridor to take. Why didn't she have a map of the palace? It would be funny if there was a map function. In her inventory were only those from Qishan to Balbadd.

 _Are you trying to be a person in one of those MMO whatever games you told me?_ Orobas asked and she chuckled.

"That would be funny.

 _Name: Lenka_

 _Level: 12_

 _Strenght:_ let's say _90,_ that sounds good.

 _Magoi: 120_

 _Stamina: 70_

 _Djinn: Orobas (Fire)_

 _Special Move: Purifying extreme magic_

 _Active Effects:_ Magoi _feed from Rukh_

That sounds quite cool, doesn't it?"

 _Err, forget that I had asked. You are weird._

 _Who chose me as his queen?_

 _Okay, I think weird is the new great,_ Orobas agreed. Lenka smiled when she found a window and stopped for a few seconds to hear Alibaba talking then squinted her eyes. Was that a white-glowing giant bird flying up over the city? And was the bird really stopped by a cover of black Rukh?

"Oh shit," she murmured when she realized that the crowd wasn't screaming because of joy but instead of anger and blood thirst.

She started to run and skidded inside a room full of wounded people. They were lying everywhere on the floor, bleeding and moaning from the pain. Lenka looked around until she found a familiar purple braid. Sinbad was treating an injured soldier. His hands were covered with blood as he saw up and spotted Lenka who rushed towards him.

 _Talk to Player Sinbad, press the A button. Inspect his statistics, press B button_

 _What the hell is wrong with you? I shouldn't have asked about that game thing._

"Sinbad! It's Al-Thamen! The 'banker' and the replacement of the guy I killed yesterday have merged and started to raise a cloak of depraved Rukh over the city!"

Sinbad scowled at this information.

"Are you sure?"

"I can see Rukh, gosh darn it! Both Judar and Aladdin are still out cold, so we are quite lucky. Shall I go and blast them from the sky?"

 _Player Morgiana enters conversation._

"Please wait," Morgiana appeared from behind Sinbad, touched Lenka's hand then pointed with her head towards Alibaba who had started to speak.

 _Player Alibaba explain his plan. Go hear his plan?_

 _Yes._

 _No._

 _Oh Solomon, Lenka,_ Orobas groaned and hid his face behind his hands.

"I'll head to the location of the enemy's boss. I'll stop Cassim," he announced with a strong resolve. Lenka grinned and stepped forward. Alibaba's eyes widened when he saw her, unsure if she was friend or fiend until the traveler gave him a warm smile.

"Go forward. I'll take care of the rest of them."

He nodded and ran outside.

 _Player Alibaba has left the room._

 _I give up on trying to stop you. It's no use._

Sinbad looked at her with a frown. Maybe he had noticed the face she made.

"Will he be okay?"

Lenka shook her head.

"As far as I know he might have to kill the man who was like a brother to him. No one in such a situation would be okay."

Mor tugged at her vest.

"... Have the Kou people set off already?"

"They have. You might see Kougyoku very often when you're in Kou, Sinbad.

Mor, I wish you well, don't use too much strength and look after Alibaba."

The fanalis nodded with serious face.

Lenka smiled then raced to the balcony and looked down. Alibaba stood with Cassim and his followers in a circle of Amon's flames. They were shouting at each other, so Lenka supposed they were alright for now. She inhaled and chanted with lowered voice:

"Spirit of faithfulness and truth, dwell in my body, guide my soul, turn me into one of you to protect the innocent."

 _Player Lenka enables djinn equip (Orobas). Flying mode enabled. Constant magoi loss -12 added to active effects._

 _Of course, my queen. I really can't bring you to stop you commentating everything you do?_

 _No. This is like Magical Girl Mode, just cooler._

 _Do I really want to know what you just said? I don't._

The instant her body changed and the armor appeared a wave of heat rushed through the air. A few people gasped in amazement when they saw the transformation.

 _Let's go._

Lenka jumped off and flew towards the black cloud, a white blur of fire in the air that was filled with smoke. She stopped a few yards over the highest tower and stared at the depraved mass of black birds. Even their chirping sounded wrong and filthy.

 _Player Lenka enters fight against Mass of depraved Rukh. Okay, okay, I stop for now. Can we do a purifying extreme magic?_

 _That is what my extreme magic does. As long as we have enough_ magoi _we can cleanse everything._

 _Okay then._

Lenka noticed that the few stray black Rukh became white again when they touched her or the fiery stole and smiled, even though they sent her painful memories, sad stories of the citizens under her. Yet she was here, had a djinn, friends, power. She could do anything here. No one was judging her for her actions, she was doing her very best. Slowly she breathed in and gathered the power in her stomach then grabbed the crystal sword's hilt with both hands.

"Oh thou who is the incense," the glowing circle with the eight-pointed star appeared over her and grew bigger with every word.

"Hear my humble request," and the circle enlarged and enlarged. Soon it would cover the whole airspace over Balbadd.

"Spread the white flames that purge the depraved," the circle stopped growing. The air vibrated with power. She grinned even though the struggle to keep the flow of magoi constant for the attack was intense.

"Purify the sinners and lead them back to the light! _Cleansing blaze_!"

White and blue flames roared upwards, forming winged creatures, dragons, a flood that covered the black cloud and turned the fallen birds white again. They whirled around the castle like a hurricane or like a flock of starlings, from left to right and then back to the left. A few of them came back to Lenka and shared their _magoi_ with her, leaving happy and kind memories in her head.

 _They should be happy._

* * *

"Princess! Look at that! Back there in Balbadd!"

Kougyoku turned back to the direction where they had come from and paled. A pillar of light shot to the sky, blinding white in front of the blue sky. A hot breeze touched her cheeks.

"What is this sensation?" Ka Koubun asked with squinted eyes. Her mouth was dry as she answered:

"Lenka's extreme magic I suppose. Apparently something went wrong."

Her attendant grabbed her hand.

"Princess, we can't go back now! If there's a revolt and the citizens kill the nobles we've not to go back. Rather we should speed up and tell his majesty what happened here."

Kougyoku bit on her lip. She wanted to help her friend, yet she had a mission to do. And Lenka was strong. Plus Sinbad was there... she blushed when remembering the High King. He was handsome and had been very polite, too. And those golden eyes that seemed to touch the depths of her soul...

"Double the speed to Kou," she ordered with a sigh.

 _Please be safe._

* * *

Lenka exhaled and grinned.

 _That was great! Have you seen how big the casting circle was? Bigger than the city, wasn't it?_

 _Yes, and you have enough_ magoi _left for at least two more extreme attacks before the equip wears off._

 _That's great! So great!_

 _Can you say something else?_

 _Glorious!_

 _By the way, what happened with Amon's lad?_

Lenka looked down then flew lower. The soldiers had Cassim stand in the middle of their spears. His sword of black mist was broken, yet he didn't looked frightened. Just simply... melancholic. Then he took a deep breath and raised his sword. Lenka dashed forward to the ground.

"Stop it you stupid brat!" she yelled the instant Cassim pierced himself with his sword. The bystanders screamed in shock as the blood gushed out, turning the ground and his clothes crimson red. He grinned.

"Watch... people from the slums."

Then Cassim pulled the broken weapon out of his chest. More blood flowed out of him, dripped in the growing puddle at his feet.

"Citizens... nobles... royalty... everyone..."

He stood there, perforated but proud and raised the sword to the sky.

"This is the proof of obtaining hidden power! Assemble! Everything return!"

The shattered pieces of the fog troupes magic weapons flew upwards and gathered around him. Then they pierced his body, covered his skin, merged with him. A chirping column of black Rukh passed Lenka and twirled around Cassim's new body.

 _Those sick bastards!_ howled Orobas and Lenka gripped her sword tighter. She wasn't exactly fond of the man but turning into a creature of darkness was nothing someone should experience.

 _Attack!_

* * *

 **Sorry for the cliffhanger but I almost reached my word limit *my chapters have usually 3,000 to 5,000 words* but I don't think you'll have to wait a whole week for the next chapter because I have enough time to write *Lenka applauds* I never thought this would work out this well but surprisingly it does.**

 **Thanks and imaginary hugs to all of you who reviewed, favorited, followed or simply read Second Chance! I love to share this story with you!**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **Once again, Magi belongs to Ohtaka Shinobu, my OC to me, there might be spoilers plus references to objects, songs, games and so on _._ I use most characters names from my country's official translation so they might differ from those you're used to.**

 **Have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 9 Fighting the black djinn

Dark scales and plates covered the creature that was once Cassim, wings unfolded that seemed to suck up the sunlight. The third eye on the forehead blinked then rolled around in the socket to stare at the terrified soldiers. Swirls of black Rukh wrapped around the thing, giving commands to kill, to slaughter, to tear apart, to let the hatred run free.

The black djinn, three times bigger than the humans around it, cowered then jumped to hover over the plaza. The ugly jaws opened – and Lenka's knee hit the creature's head with enough force to break some of the teeth out and dislocate the mandible.

 _Player Lenka attacks Black Djinn (Cassim) (Boss)._

 _Oh, could you please stop that?_

"Run! Do you want to get killed?" she yelled then turned a somersault backwards to cut the djinn's left wing off. Lenka landed a few meters away from the enemy and pointed her blade on it when someone hurled himself into her with enough force to knock her over and into a pile of rubble.

"Don't kill Cassim!" Alibaba screamed into her ear and struggled to get her hand of the saber.

"This is not Cassim! Its-"

A loud crackling sound had them look up just to see the gravitation magic spheres the djinn threw at the fleeing soldiers. The black balls crushed their bones and ripped limbs of, the impact sounds and the terrified yells grew to a sickening soundtrack that accompanied the events.

Lenka slapped the other dungeon capturer in the face in her fury.

"You stupid brat! I could have saved them!"

Then she raced over to Morgiana who dodged the spheres and jumped around to safe victims, her expression extremely frightened.

"Alibaba! Get a hold of yourself!" she screamed at the blonde man. Alibaba blinked then touched his red cheek while staring open-mouthed at the djinn who had stopped the bombarding and stared at the palace balcony now.

"What the? Miss Lenka! It's regenerating?!"

Lenka gritted her teeth and jumped at the djinn the instant the thing opened his new wing and set off to kill the ex-king and his brother standing on the balcony. She missed it by a mere finger's length but used the palace wall to launch herself at it again. Luckily Morgiana had the same idea. The fanalis kick against the djinn's head caught it off guard and when the dungeon capturer collided with the creature's back it crashed down to the stony ground in front of Alibaba.

"Please finish it off with your sword!" Mor screamed at her friend who continued to stare at the djinn while the traveler jumped off and into airspace again.

"Are you Cassim?"

 _No he is not!_ Orobas shouted furiously. _Idiot!_

 _He might be!_

The djinn raised his head and pointed with a gravity sphere in it's claw at Alibaba.

"Oh, finally!" Lenka sighed when Amon's sword sliced through the side where normally the hearth should have been and cut the arm and wing off. The djinn screeched and fell on its scaly knees.

"Once more, Alibaba!" the fanalis yelled and raced forward. The young man struck out – and a whirl of black Rukh shot over the palace wall and connected with the djinn's injured side to regenerate it.

"You sick bastards!" Lenka screamed when the streams of Rukh got denser and the demon started to swell up to giant size. Even kneeling it reached over the walls now and its roar was more fierce than before. She bared her teeth and plunged towards the djinn from the air while Mor raced forwards to attack when it turned it's head to the red-haired girl and clenched a fist. Morgiana yelped as she got pulled towards the djinn. Lenka felt a tug as well and dodged right just to hit the floor.

"Gravitation manipulation!" she yelled at Sinbad while sliding past him. He turned to her, nodded then ran towards a staircase she hadn't seen until now.

"Morgiana!" cried Alibaba when the djinn pushed his palm toward the girl and sent her over the wall. Lenka tried to catch her but a sudded pain made her cough, her eyes started to sting and felt something trickle down her cheek.

 _What is that?_

 _Apparently I miscalculated something. Or the constant nursing of the Magi drained you more than we assumed. You used up too much_ magoi _and now it strains your body. You have only minutes left, or even seconds. Player Lenka: 30 of 120 points_ magoi _._

 _Are you kidding me?_

 _Look out!_

Lenka cursed then launched herself up to the black djinn that aimed with a massive gravitation sphere at the palace. With a loud battle cry she cut off both arms causing the sphere to vanish instantly and turned to the ugly head.

"Oh, hi!"

Sinbad gave her a grim smile and drove his hand in the djinn's neck to fuse his magoi with the djinn's. Instantly the depraved blackness crawled up his arms. The king gritted his teeth then coughed up blood.

"Get down, I can manage one extreme before my equip wears off!" Lenka screamed. Sinbad shook his head.

"You used to much _magoi_ already. Alibaba! I'll hold him down, just finish him off!"

The young man stared at him in shock.

"This thing... has a will," the king continued, "it will massacre this country's royalty and those who were affiliated with the monarchy. That is the will of revolution. And we cannot allow that to happen!"

Lenka growled then landed next to him to pierce the blue saber into the djinn then released the full equip to continue weapon equip. She hissed with pain as she forced her _magoi_ in and at the same time depraved Rukh out to cleanse them.

"The only one who can save this country, the only one who can create a bloodless revolution is you!" Sinbad screamed.

 _Go down!_ Lenka forced her will with her power into the djinn. The creature trembled then landed and fell forward.

"Kill him!"

Alibaba ran towards the djinn, a fierce battle cry on his lips.

* * *

Lenka felt the impact and was really surprised when the concentration of the djinn's mind faded a bit. Did he really manage to kill the thing yet already? If she remembered correctly then – and there he flew back into the palace wall. She heard a loud cracking sound and wasn't sure if it was the wall or the boy's bones now. The djinn growled and grabbed Sinbad, tore him off his back and threw him in the same direction as the other. Luckily Morgiana re-appeared this instant and catched the king before he could smack Alibaba.

 _Djinn equip!_

In a blast of light Lenka's armor returned and she leaped off.

"Spirit of incense! Hear my prayer!"

The extreme magic circle appeared between her and the black djinn.

"Use your scorching white flames to cleanse the sinner!"

Under her the soldiers that had come back darted their spears at the djinn while Alibaba raced forward to give the monster the finishing blow.

"Pure-"

"Hello there Boobies."

A blast of power hit her side and smashed Lenka to the ground in an explosion of stones and dust where her equip wore off completely. Lenka coughed up blood then felt Morgiana's firm grip on her arm as the girl dragged her away from the crater to Sinbad.

"It's that guy again."

"I know," Lenka hissed and touched her side. Her first impression was that nothing was broken yet she was sure that that would leave a bad bruise.

"Damn those Al-Thamen dickheads."

Sinbad flinched at her words but Lenka didn't care. She scowled at the fiend behind the fallen Magi. The black Rukh filled the air around them like germs and she started to gather white ones around her and animated them to give her _magoi_ to prepare a counter attack.

"Alibaba, they plan on killing you."

Sinbad, Morgianna and Alibaba stared at her with shock.

"What?"

"He will become a dangerous existence in the future. Your vessel is too pure to fall into depravity I guess and you have meddled with their plans already. I think they want to see me and Sinbad dead as well because we are singularities and djinn vessel holder.

We have to hold out until Aladdin arrives. By then we might have enough _magoi_ to strike back."

Sinbad nodded.

"Good. Oh no."

Lenka stared up just to see Judar standing on the black djinn and fusing his own energy with the demons.

"Okay, that's bad. Plans?"

"I'll go," the king growled and straightened himself.

The dust the Magi had caused vanished and now the traveler could see the duo in their scary glory. Depraved Rukh fluttered around Judar and the djinn like some kind of a black halo and caused her spine to tingle with nausea.

 _Dodge!_

Judar raised his wand then pointed on Sinbad,a shower of ice spears nailed the king of Sindria against the wall behind him and froze him there while Lenka leaped forwards and rolled away from the attack.

 _Lenka._

"Behave, Sinbad," the Magi chuckled then raised a brow.

"Hey, Boobies, that should have hit you too."

 _I have a plan that could kill you._

 _Sounds good to me_ , Lenka thought and raised her voice to answer Judar.

"I would rather prevent to get frozen by you twice, you know?"

"Oh, come on," he grinned, "I'd love to have you and Sinbad battle then choose the one of you that wins my favor."

Suddenly Lenka remembered a time when she had read a rather explicit fanfiction about this particular pairing and unintentionally blushed. That story had been to good for her poor inner fangirl and why in hell did she remember that now? Stupid perverted inner fangirl! Her outward appearance remained calm and composed when she answered:

"I'd prevent that as well."

 _My brother and I invented this theory before we got separated._

Judar seemed to misread her reaction and leered at her.

"Interested?"

"Well, not really, I don't think that I'm a person for threesomes. I turned his offer down as well."

 _We swap places, you give the control to me and have me beat the Magi, the demon and the doll. Our djinn equip is lower than half of it's full power because our synchronization is still too low. With this I could use my full power._

"Oh really?" he snickered then turned to the captured Sinbad.

"What did you do to have her against you?"

 _Our body will die when we're out of_ magoi _though._

"Well, I seemed to not have convinced her with my kissing qualities. Didn't get as far as you, though."

 _Chances of surviving?_

Judar laughed at this comment then turned back to Lenka.

"So he was that bad?"

 _Less than three percent._

The Al-Thamen guy interrupted the almost friendly conversation between the three of them.

"Magi, didn't you want to kill someone?"

"Gosh, I want to kill YOU," Lenka complained, even though she was kind of relieved that the enemy had cut into the talk.

 _Great. Please tell me when you're ready._

Judar grinned mischievously and waved with his wand.

"Go help yourself, Boobies. I love it when my kings show some engagement."

Lenka smiled at him.

"I'm no ones king right now. Just a warrior."

"Magi, watch out!"

Judar raised his head just to see Alibaba get thrown at him and blocked the dungeon capturer with a simple wand move.

"Oh. It's you. Your djinn equipment against gravity magic infused with the magoi from the demon and me." He turned the black djinn's claw into a whirling lance and shouted at Alibaba who tried to break the shield:

"Do you think you can beat this?!"

The dark lance clashed against Amon's sword, causing the weapon to vibrate. Lenka who had casually walked over to Sinbad while Judar's attention wasn't on her to melt the shackles sharply sucked her breath in as she saw the sword's magoi concentration change.

"The sword will break."

Then she stepped a few meters away while hearing Alibaba shout his djinn's name. With a loud cracking sound the black blade shattered and Alibaba fell to the floor.

"Your foresight is unmatched," she heard Sinbad mutter and nodded then returned to his side when Judar continued to ignore her.

 _Have we gathered enough power yet, Orobas?_

 _A few minutes more. The longer I have to gather_ magoi _the higher your surviving chances get._

"One more time, Morgiana," Alibaba told his friends while using the broken blade as a help to stand up. The fanalis girl yelped surprised.

"What are you saying? The sword is already-"

"The sword is still here. I'm still alive."

 _Quite heroic, the boy._

"One more time!"

 _Okay, very heroic._

And Morgiana threw him up a second time. And Alibaba got blocked by the laughing Magi a second time, fell on the ground in a heap, yet didn't loose the grip on the broken sword's hilt. And got up again to glare at the magi with an impressive determination.

Lenka felt a familiar tingle in the Rukh and smiled.

 _You're late._

Judar had raised his wand and summoned a few ice shards to throw them at the dungeon capturer on the ground when a giant blast of light hit the floor between the combatants that scorched away the ice.

"Really, you are such a strange person," a childish voice told Alibaba, "But because that is who you are I want to be of help to you. And I'll stretch my hand out to you no matter how many times..."

"Aladdin!" cheered Alibaba, Lenka and Morgiana.

* * *

Judar stared at the younger Magi with an evil grin.

"Let me say this, Chibi... I won't loose this time."

He increased his link to the black djinn and sent energy waves over the sky.

"Because I've attained a 'djinn' too! Call your djinn out now!"

When Aladdin remained silent the fallen Magi shot a single ice spear at him. The boy summoned a borg barrier then ambled over to Sinbad and Lenka while Judar bombarded him with more ice and demanded that he should fight him.

Aladdin stopped in front of the adults.

"Mister, big sis, are you alright?"

Lenka nodded.

"A bit drained, though, but I will be able to fight in a few more minutes."

"Aladdin, the only person left who can match up to them is your djinn," Sinbad said. Aladdin touched his flute then gripped it tightly.

"Are you talking about Ugo? Well... He's not here any more."

The bystanders except Lenka yelped in shock and surprise. Judar slightly furrowed his brows.

"Without a djinn you're just a normal brat."

He shot a black sphere of energy at Aladdin while yelling one of his favorite words – or so Lenka assumed. He used "Die!" way too often. Someone should teach him a few synonyms, like _perish_ , _drop dead_ or something like that. The boy stretched out his arms and a swarm of white Rukh, visible for everyone, surrounded him, lifting him off the ground. Aladdin closed his eyes and raised both hands plus staff over his head whereupon the glowing birds formed two strong arms at first, then a head until a white giant towered over the plaza.

 _Lenka, we could do the special now or just a djinn equip again._

 _Let's wait a few more seconds and gather more power._

"That's just pure heat magic!" Judar yelled. "You're such a boring brat, just die already!"

Aladdin laced his fingers around the wooden cane over his head. The white giant imitated his movements perfectly and both held their stance until Judar and the black djinn were close enough. Then the young Magi unleashed his heat attack that caught the other completely off guard. The wave of hot air was strong enough to melt Sinbad's ice shackles instantly. The king slumped against Lenka and the helpful Morgiana for a second.

"Mister, are you alright?" Aladdin asked while not averting his eyes from Judar.

"Yeah."

"Then, Mor, can you take him down to the city? There are people waiting for him."

Lenka nodded at the girl.

"Just fetch him, I'll protect the boys."

Aladdin smiled and gave her a quick hug.

"I received your messages, big sis."

"Okay then," the traveler ruffled his hair then both turned to Judar who re-appeared in a cloud of black Rukh, grinning like a madman and screaming "Don't disappoint me, Chibi!" while gathering even more power. Aladdin simply looked up to the fallen Magi for a few seconds then stated:

"Looks like I can't win."

Alibaba yelped in shock and surprise at this words while Lenka nodded.

"Too much black Rukh."

Aladdin smiled.

"My magic is still incomplete, so I can't win, whatever I do. That's why I need both of you to help me to defeat him and the black 'djinn'."

Alibaba bit on his lower lip then stared at his broken sword.

"You see, I wish to do so, but... but Amon's sword is broken! I have no magoi left... I can't fight any longer..."

Aladdin chuckled and touched his now crying friends shoulder.

"That's not true, Alibaba. Here, take a close look."

White Rukh started to flow from the Magi into Alibaba and when Aladdin raised his staff they flew over the wall into the city.

"That's why we continue to fight!"

The giant white bird, revived by the hope and determination of the citizens like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes, returned to Aladdin, whirled around the boy and merged with him then broke apart in spirals of light. He was the eye of the storm, a storm that re-formed into two giant hands on the outer edge. A blinding light started to glow on Aladdin's forehead, forming a seal with the eight-pointed star at it's center.

 _Solomon's wisdom! He obtained it!_

The Magi raised his staff again, the spiral accumulated to a big cloud – and then the Rukh formed people. The cloud split and the white figures disappeared into the city.

"What was that just now?" Alibaba asked. Aladdin smiled gently at him.

"Well, I made everyone come over to guide you and your friend."

The young man still looked confused so Lenka decided to trow in her two pennies worth.

"Souls, aren't they?"

The Magi nodded.

"That's almost it. Can you go and keep that man with the owl staff busy? We take care of the 'djinn'."

"As you wish," grinned the traveler and formed her djinn equipment.

* * *

The man was really surprised when he got hit by a really enthusiastic dungeon capturer bullet that catapulted him over the wall and up into the sky over Balbadd. Waving his staff and shooting a hail of thunder spheres at the insolent female he did a distress call to the basis; they responded immediately and sent another duplicate to the palace grounds to supervise the Magi and recover him if he was hit by the Wisdom of Solomon.

* * *

Lenka dodged the magic and sent a column of white flames at the Al-Thamen. Now she saw what Orobas had meant when he had told her that their synchronization was too low: her aim in aerial fight was very poor and her defense was not that good as she had assumed. Her attacks were strong, that was true, but without accuracy and low dodging qualities a well targeted curse could take her out faster than she could yell a counterattack. A glass cannon, that was the term that fit perfectly.

 _The black demon is down,_ Orobas informed her while Lenka evaded a spear of black Rukh.

 _I get rid of this one now._

Lenka decided to use the trick that had worked so well on the last Al-Thamen; by pure luck the owl-staffed mage fell into the same trap and the cocoon of fire closed behind him. She clenched her fist and the ball shrank down until the traveler heard a familiar plopping sound and a clay doll fell from the sky.

She swooped down, catched it then looked over the plaza.

 _Judar! Where is he?_

 _It seems a double appeared and had him teleported away. Did you receive a message from Solomon?_

 _No,_ she growled and landed on the ground to cancel the equip. A tingly eruption of the Rukh told her that Sinbad had finished off his double and anger and sadness flowed into her.

Again she hadn't managed to get Judar to a safe place, or at least to give him more white Rukh to light up his darkness. Useless, that was a word that described her actions perfectly. She had hoped to change the flow of fate a bit and yet nothing had changed! So many people had died during the revolt, so many innocent lives lost...

Lenka felt a soft touch at her arm and looked down. Aladdin smiled at her then pointed at Alibaba who had the Rukh of Cassim and his sister around.

"Smile, big sis. We can still hope."

She started to smile as well and placed an arm around the Magi's shoulders to pull him closer.

"I know. Yet I'm angered that I'm still that weak."

Aladdin nodded.

"I know. I'm weak too, yet we have to go forward to reach our goal."

"You have become wiser, little brother," she said with warm voice. He smiled and hugged her.

"I've met Ugo. You were right; he's still alive in that place."

"Maybe we can manage to get there once again."

Aladdin shook his head then buried his face in her cleavage.

"He said we would never meet again."

"And I quote you: 'We can still hope'."

He chuckled then freed himself to look up to Lenka with a smile.

"My big sister is really clever."

"I do my best. Now go and see what you can do for your king over there."

With a slight chuckle the Magi stepped towards his king candidate.

"Hey, Alibaba. Do you really think that you didn't managed to save him?"

Alibaba didn't answer, so Aladdin continued "Your friend, and this country's darkness is already gone."

Lenka smiled at the couple then heard someone call her name and fast tapping sounds. Morgiana raced towards her friends, first jumped at Lenka and then at the two boy to give them a special bone-crushing hug. Their happy laughter resounded in the air that was filled with white Rukh, sunshine and the atmosphere of a victory.

* * *

 **Well, a special release because I have enough time to write and more or less good ideas what to do with the story.**

 **And so the Balbadd arc ends *Lenka waves and throws confetti* and the story moves to a different setting, mainly Sindria for the next chapters.**

 **Thank you so much for your support! I appreciate that!**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 10 Meeting Gusion

Lenka was sure she was going to die. More accurately, she hoped that she would die soon. Death couldn't be as cruel as another hour spent on this torture instrument called _Star of the North_. With every up and down of the ship her stomach revolted more until she hung for the umpteenth time over the railing to immolate her breakfast, lunch or whatever she had eaten or not eaten to the sea.

It was the third day after they had left Balbadd and the third day of her permanent sea-sickness. Of course Lenka knew that she would be sick after she set foot on a ship because even the ferry she had boarded on a field trip of her school for fifteen minutes had caused nausea, yet she wasn't prepared for this hellish tour. She could swim, though, but boats were another matter.

They hadn't been able to stay in Balbadd after the revolution; the chance that someone would attack the royals had been way too high for comfort plus Sinbad had suggested that the Kou Empire would sent troops to the country to get hold of it and probably capture Alibaba to have a scapegoat. And really, a large military force had arrived almost the instant the fight against the black djinn had ended. So he invited them to Sindria, or to be precisely he knocked Alibaba out and had him carried to the ship while Morgiana and Aladdin followed unharmed.

That invitation had caused Lenka concern; she and Sinbad hadn't had quite the good start and she was worried that he would leave her in the disturbed city but apparently he had calmed down enough to invite her as well. Maybe her knowledge of the future was too big a benefit to cede to the Kou. Or the connections her friendship with Kougyoku could be used for himself. Or leaving her in Balbadd would mean that he would loose Aladdin's courtesy. And getting on a Magi's bad side was something no one would want.

Another high wave caused Lenka's stomach to wallow like the ship and she bent forward to be sick again but had nothing left to vomit into the sea. Groaning she slumped down and leaned against the rail then rubbed her eyes. The rocking of the boat and the sickness hadn't let her sleep since boarding, and no sleep and no food meant no magoi gathering and led ultimately to not being able to use her magic scarf to hover over the planks to eat something. And Aladdin was in no condition to give her magoi. He and Alibaba spent the days in their cabin to sulk and tend their wounds. And the Rukh of the sea were a bit different from the land's.

 _Don't worry, your stomach will calm down in a few more hours._

 _You told me that yesterday. And the day before yesterday. Since we stepped on the deck. Damn, I feel like Natsu of_ Fairy Tail _._

 _Who?_

"Can't someone kill me please?"

When Lenka heard a chuckle she looked up to find Sinbad standing a few steps away, grinning at her. Or her discomfort. What mattered was that he was grinning. No one should grin like that.

"Am I really that interesting, Sinbad?" she complained with weak voice.

"Well, I think it's rather funny to see that you have such problems with the sea. Onshore you are really dangerous, but on boats..."

"I warned you that I'm bad with them," Lenka tried to defend herself and used the rail to stand up. "You as the High King of the Seven Seas are too high to suffer from something insignificant such as sea-sickness."

Sinbad had the nerve to beam at her.

"Indeed. By the way, where are you trying to go?"

"To somewhere where I can get water and zwieback to remain alive for some more days."

"Didn't you ask me to kill you a few seconds ago?" he replied and grabbed Lenka's arm to stabilize her wobbling attempt to get to the galley. She glared at him while Orobas started to yell at Sinbad to stop touching _his_ Lenka.

"I changed my mind. When do we arrive in your country?"

"In a few days, dependent on the wind. Maybe in a few weeks."

Lenka groaned and intentionally bumped into him when he led her down a staircase.

"Can't you speed up with a djinn? Have you a djinn that can use wind or water?"

"I do," Sinbad said and placed her at the table in the dining room, "yet I won't use them for something like that."

Her head dropped on the plate while he took place as well.

"Gaaah... annoying."

"There is a carafe with water and a cup, if you want."

Lenka looked up, took the cup and filled it then began to drink in small, slow gulps. Slowly a bit of her power came back and after two zwieback she felt gradually better. Sinbad stayed with her, slightly smiling while watching her nibble at the food.

She tilted her head.

"You're watching me."

"I do."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

 _Stop hitting on Lenka or I'll burn you to crisps!_

Lenka leaned back and sighed.

"Talking to you is really difficult sometimes. Can you please tell me why you are watching me?"

Sinbad leaned back as well.

"I don't think so. Have Aladdin and Alibaba left their cabin by now?"

"After the first time when you told them we were sailing to Sindria not, have they?"

He made a face.

"Those kids are really a handful."

"Morgiana is not," Lenka defended the girl, "she is almost always on deck, following Masrur like a pup. Both of us haven't given up on the boys. Each of them lost a very important friend, Alibaba Cassim and Aladdin Ugo. It takes a while to recover from something like that, doesn't it?"

Sinbad nodded and wanted to answer when something shook the ship, causing the chandelier to clink, Lenka's cup to jump from the table and her seasickness to have a nasty comeback.

"What was that?"

"... urgh..."

"Sinbad!" screamed Ja'far while storming into the room, too excited for formalities.

"Come up to the deck, there is something in the sea!"

Lenka and Sinbad followed the man to the left side of the ship – Lenka didn't care if this was starboard or larboard, it was _left_ – where Morgiana was standing already and stared into the foaming waves. A coral spike shoved itself through the water and the Rukh shot around it like crazy. She squinted her eyes as she saw a green flash for a second before it disappeared.

Sinbad's loud curse pulled her attention to the king.

"Is that..."

He nodded.

"A dungeon."

 _A friend! A friend! Lenka, come on, it's your chance to get another djinn! Please, say yes!_

Excitement shot through her veins, encouraged through Orobas' joyful outburst and she started to pull off her shoes, scarf and vest to place them neatly folded next to a pile of ropes. Everything was better than staying on the ship, even entering a dungeon.

"Erm, Miss Lenka, what exactly are you doing?" Ja'far asked with furrowed brows. She beamed at him and Sinbad who looked not less surprised than his general.

"I'm stripping for you."

Ja'far blushed a bit while the king started to smirk.

"Just kidding, I'm preparing for dungeon capturing."

"You are what?!" both spluttered whereupon the traveler rolled her eyes.

 _That's men for you._

Orobas hummed innocently to mask the fact that he had believed her as well - and failed terribly.

"Gosh, you are not deaf, aren't you? I'm going to capture that dungeon then come back to your ship. Is that so hard to understand?"

"Lenka, it took me several weeks once to capture one," Sinbad told Lenka while she did a quick warm up, seasickness ignored or forgotten. She noticed that really did his best to not stare at her bust size while she stretched her arms and shoulders, probably thinking of Orobas' warning back in Balbadd.

"We might have left before you finish."

"I know, yet I have a djinn already, so conquering will not be that big of a problem, won't it? Ah, please tell Aladdin not to worry, I'm back in a second or two."

"Please be safe," Morgiana told her with calm face, yet Lenka could see the slight worry in her eyes so she gave the other girl a hug.

"Of course, my dear. I'll be back with treasure I reckon."

She ignored the furious yells of the males and took a header into the sea and started to do the crawl to the coral tip of the dungeon tower. The faint yellow light of the entrance shone up to her. Lenka took a few deep breaths then tried to dive down to the door but had to go back to the surface after the half way.

 _Can't we use the equip?_

 _Better not, the wave the equipment would cause might destroy the ship._

 _Damn. I try again then._

 _Lenka!_

And this time white tentacles emerged from the door and pulled her into the dungeon.

* * *

Lenka floated between the worlds again, wrapped in light. Under her feet was a planet, blue and green covered with white clouds. More light pillars like the one she was in enlightened the darkness and she smiled brightly.

 _Let's go!_

And instantly she raced towards the dungeon and in another flash of white she found herself under water again, yet this time no light showed her where the surface was. Panic rose it's ugly head when she found a wall over her, on her left side as well, on her right side too. Narrow space, filled with water and no exit to be found was not a good combination when you were not a fish.

 _Air._

Her clothes were dragging her down, down into the depths of the unknown and she struggled against the walls, feeling for a hole, a path a dry spot. Where was the roof? Or the upside? What a stupid death, drowning somewhere in a dungeon.

 _Air!_

Black spots danced in front of her eyes while the roaring of her pulse and the water pressure made her head feel like it would burst any second. Faces flashed through her mind, her siblings, her friends, the people she would leave behind.

 _AIR!_

Her lungs were screaming and she opened her mouth to drown in the dungeon.

With a loud splash Lenka fell out of the water bubble onto firm ground. Coughing and wheezing she tried to breathe again and spat salty water on the floor. She felt as if she had tried to gurgle with the ocean, her throat was wound and her eyes stung from the salt but she had air now. She never though that air could taste that sweet or be so refreshing.

 _Lenka, how are you?_

 _Owch..._

"Water... in my nose..." she sniffed and violently rubbed it then sneezed.

"Eww. Am I in the dungeon by now?"

 _It seems so. At the end of a tunnel, similar to mine, but this is a water djinn. And pretty violent as well._

"Oh dear," Lenka stood up and looked at the water bubble through which she had arrived then at the tunnel. It was sea-blue yet slightly green and seemed to be made of a kind of stone or crystal and was cool when she touched it.

"Hmph."

She took a step then wrung her soaked clothes out and started to walk towards the next room. And walked. And walked. The long channel started to annoy her so she sped up a bit, then started to jog and finally ran over the chilly ground.

 _That's a stupid dungeon and I don't have the time for that!_

 _Be a bit more patient, Lenka._

 _Ha!_

She had skidded into a big chamber that was filled with sea water ponds, shells and sand as well as coral doors on the walls and the usual toran inscription stone. The whole interior looked absolutely gorgeous, the sand was not only white, there were vanilla-colored dunes and rose ones too, sparkling as if they were mixed with diamonds. Every kind of shell she knew and didn't knew, in dazzling colors and filled with pearls and the cute crabs she knew from the aquarium. In the crystal-clear ponds were tiny fishes, various green algae, pinkish anemones and more crustaceans.

"This is gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous! Orobas, look at this crayfish, it's turquoise with pink marks! It's so cute! This dungeon is marvellous! Ah, I haven't got my phone with me to take a picture of the inscriptions! Well, such things happen sometimes, don't they? Aw, this is so fantastic!"

Lenka jumped up and down in a frenzy and accidentally kicked a crab in one of the clear ponds. The crab shrieked in agony as the acid ate it away until only a pink blob proved it's existence. Lenka stared at the liquid in horror then turned her head around to look at the room. What if...

"Do you think that every pond is actually poisonous?" she asked with small voice. Orobas had paled as well and looked like had the urge to vomit.

 _I fear so. Let's get to the wall._

Lenka nodded and tip-toed around the ponds to a smaller dark blue door and knocked before opening.

"Strange, it won't open. Let's try the next. Carefully."

She tried thirteen more until she found a pearl white one without a doorknob and was instantly sure that this was the right one. After a quick glance around she saw that this one was the only incomplete and grinned brightly.

"We need a door handle, don't we?"

 _I'd say those shells on the ground are not only for decoration. They could be acidic as well,so be careful._

"I think we need a golden or silver shell. All of these door handles are silver or bronze, so a golden would be special. And gold and pearl go well together. Let's do a djinn equip to look from above."

A few minutes later Lenka hung from the roof and turned her head in every direction. Sadly the sand sparkled enough to distract her and every time she had swooped down she landed in a dune and had sand in her nose, a very unpleasant experience and another time she had been a finger's length away from an acid puddle.

 _On the left next to the pool with the crab you thought it was so cute but is maybe dead matter. Anyway there is something shiny._

 _Okay then._

Lenka cheered loud as she grabbed a golden shell out of the sand without dropping it into the acid then released the equip to save her magoi while running to the door in question. The clam fit perfectly into the small hole and she opened the door without effort.

This tunnel slowly changed color from the sea-blue to a darker tone, as if she would descend into the ocean. A roaring sound like waves got louder with every step she took; it caused her spine to tingle with unease. The feeling got even stronger when she entered the second chamber and found a giant tank filled with waves, at least three square miles wide and the roof was nowhere to be seen. Small stone steps hovering over the water formed a path to a door, or so she hoped. Hopefully the entrance to the next room wasn't underwater. The Rukh chirped with fierceness and strength so Lenka assumed that it was not the water she should beware of. There was something in the depths she didn't want to meet, a violent kind of dungeon creature that wanted to kill, to spill blood, to gouge out entrails...

"Djinn equipment?"

 _I strongly recommend it. Very strongly._

The flames wrapped around Lenka like a warm blanket and she flew up towards the other end of the chamber. As soon as she was over open water the waves started to bubble and giant jaws shot upwards to close in mid-air.

 _A sea beast! Take care, some of them are strong enough to jump out and fly for a few seconds!_

 _Are you kidding me? That thing looked like a sea snake or dinosaur or a prehistoric whale with those teeth._

 _The next!_

The whole pit under the traveler foamed with sea creatures, their snapping jaws, strong tails, sharp teeth and horns and Lenka unintentionally shuddered when she imagined what would have happened to her if she didn't had a djinn already. She would have been death after the second stepping stone, they had started to float forward, backwards up and to her horror down as well. Lenka took a deep breath then continued her flight towards the exit, always dodging the monsters under her that jumped upwards in fierce determination to get a piece of her as addition to their normal cannibalistic diet.

 _There! Just over sea level!_

Lenka concentrated on the door that had appeared behind a curtain of sea foam - and stopped in mid-air. A green grid covered the exit, it's Rukh seemed strong and unwilling to crumble by force.

"It's locked as well! What is this dungeon?"

 _Maybe we need another key. One of the sea beasts must have it._

"Do you mean that I have to slaughter all of them?"

 _I think only this one._

Lenka turned her head and started to curse. The sea creatures she had passed had started to merge into one giant serpent that filled the water with it's tough scaly red and green body, teeth bigger than her and horns and spikes that seemed to be unbreakable. The fins were bigger than the sails of the ship Sinbad and the others were waiting for her return. Large orange eyes stared up with undeniable intelligence, power and hunger. A deep growl vibrated through the salty air.

She grinned and pointed her blade on the creature.

"Come here, I'll craft you into a cute little handbag."

The beast fanned with the fins behind it's gills and spat a shot of boiling water at Lenka who dodged and started an attack at the gills, then at the nose. Finally the monster opened his jaws again – the moment Lenka was waiting for. She threw a white-glowing flame spear into the waiting maw which roasted the serpent from the inside.

 _Well, if you hadn't had a djinn that thing surely would have chewed you like a toy,_ Orobas mused when they entered the door.

"Sure thing, but I rely on you doing your job and pride as djinn."

 _I know and that makes me happy,_ he declared with a bright smile. Lenka grinned and released the equip to continue the capturing.

"This dungeon is really easy."

" _You want easy?"_ a voice boomed, echoing from everywhere and nowhere and she flinched in surprise when hearing the djinn of the dungeon speaking.

" _You get 'easy'!"_

"Oh no."

 _Sometimes I wonder if you're stupid or just extremely bold._

 _That makes two of us._

* * *

A _re we there by now?_

 _No._

 _Come on, we must have reached the door to the necropolis by now. Maybe you've passed by when those algae were trying to strangle you. Or when the starfish threw star daggers at you. Or when the jellyfish-_

 _I am sure I haven't passed by, and those were no jellyfish but octopus. Poison octopus._

 _Well, I have no nose, the green dust might have been stink too._

 _You are unbelievable_ , Lenka growled and continued her race through the hurricane the dungeon had summoned in another vast room filled with kelp and trenches with hot water. A palm tree came flying at her and she split it with the djinn sword. Stupid thing to leave her katana and the flying cloth at the ship, together with her dagger and some of the jewelry, but she had been sure they would rust in the damp air. She only wore her short blouse, pants, the metal vessel, the forearm armor and the biceps bracelets because they were so hard to remove.

A faint glimmer of light awoke Lenka's curiosity so she moved towards it until she found a red and white striped lighthouse on a large rock. The stone was slippery plus the storm didn't help much to enable a safe passage but somehow she managed to climb up to thee door without bigger injuries than a few overstretched muscles in her arms and left shoulder.

"A-ha!" she cheered and opened the door to enter the empty city.

"That dungeon was way more vicious than yours, Orobas. I nearly died twice, didn't I?"

 _Three times when you count the algae as well._

"Gosh, I totally forgot them. Where do you think we can find the djinn?"

 _I recommend going to the big tower in the middle of the city. My treasure room was in the center as well if you remember._

Lenka nodded and jumped from a white roof to another until she found an ideal spot to descend to the street and skipped humming towards the tall door with the eight-pointed star embedded in it.

"Open sesame."

The two words caused the two wings to open wide and she entered with a small ball of fire floating next to her as a illuminant for the spacious treasure room. Almost immediately she found a pedestal in an alcove and touched the ring placed on it. A boost of light and energy shot through the chamber and the djinn appeared. Lenka tilted her head in confusion as she inspected the seal-like and slightly jackal-y spirit that filled the space. Yes, it was blue, but that was the only thing this one had in common with Orobas. It even had whiskers and small fins behind the gills and Lenka was really unable to say if the djinn was male or female. At least the girly stole was missing, a good sign. No, there it was, a fluttery blue piece of cloth. The djinn opened a mouth filled with sharp teeth and spoke with calm yet very neutral voice as if he or she hadn't the intention to make her quiver with fear or something. In fact it sounded rather bored. Scratch that, it sounded very bored.

"I am Gusion, the eleventh djinn, a spirit of friendship and reconciles. Congratulations on finishing my dungeon. I will make you queen. You can keep all of the treasure. Questions?"

Lenka grinned a bit at this bold introduction.

"Yes, I have a question. Can you please manage to portal me on the ship that is waiting next to your dungeon? I don't want to die as soon as I finished capturing another dungeon. Drowning in the pit a dungeon leaves is certainly not funny, isn't it?"

Gusion waved with his/her/it's flipper.

"I understand. You have captured that player Orobas too? Well, it's not as if I wouldn't like him. He is funny in his idiotic and clingy way."

"In fact Gusion likes or dislikes no one enough to tell him or her straightforward," Orobas mumbled when he materialized in the treasure room to scowl at the other djinn. Gusion raised a flipper to the mouth and seemed to think about something.

"I disliked that guy Focalor. And Zagan. Especially Zagan."

Orobas beamed at the other djinn.

"I knew that you weren't that complicated. Can you manage to adjust the time too? We have a Magi waiting as well."

Gusion seemed to be slightly surprised.

"A Magi? That is good. Are you his king vessel?"

Lenka shook her head.

"No, I am his guardian and Solomon's warrior."

The djinn was silent for a few seconds then burst out in a cackling laughter that reminded of a jackal's bark.

"The boy's warrior? Well, that settles it. A pleasure to serve you, my queen."

And the room disappeared and Lenka was swapped through space again while the seal star appeared on the silver forearm armor. Orobas sighed.

 _Well done. Gusion is very special and has a unique sense of duty and honor. She had her disagreements with our King Solomon too._

 _Gusion is a GIRL?_

 _Last time I checked I was female,_ the djinn agreed _. And don't think I'll be as easy to convince as the other. You have to work hard to earn my respect._

Lenka grinned and looked at the fading dungeon under her.

 _I suppose this is a good thing._

* * *

"My king, we have to move on or we might not reach Sindria in the expected time," the ship's captain pleaded with fluttering hands. Sinbad sighed and scratched his head while staring annoyed at the dungeon's tip. Five minutes had passed since Lenka had left. Five minutes in which he had ordered to not move the ship away from the building. He was sure that the blonde nuisance could manage to capture the dungeon, but the wave the disappearing of it would cause another huge wave that might destroy the _Star of the North_. On the other side, if Lenka was unable to conquer the djinn they would have to sail to Sindria without her and her abilities before they would starve. They had to continue their travel either way.

"Half an hour more. Prepare for another wave," he ordered and the man stumbled away, screaming at the sailors. Morgiana stepped next to him.

"She will make it," the girl said.

"It's not if she can or can't do it, it's how long it will take her to do it," Ja'far informed her, "We have to reach Sindria while the wind is still pushing us."

The fanalis nodded then continued to stare at the dungeon. A few seconds later the damn thing shook and started to crumble then disappeared. Water flowed into the space the building left and the ship reeled from side to side then balanced out again and a minute later no one would have guessed that there was once a dungeon in this part of the sea.

Sinbad frowned.

"Where-"

A white light, loud bang and clattering noise disturbed the silence. The waiting turned around just to see Lenka on a giant heap of treasure, grinning wide and waving happily at them.

"I'm back! Sorry it took me so long, but I have brought compensation and dungeon items!"

With a muffled cry Morgiana jumped at her to give her a bone-crushing hug that caused the girls to fall from the mountain of gold and jewels. Ja'far chuckled slightly and Sinbad glanced at him.

"She is someone that outmatches every assumption."

The king made a face then looked at the laughing dungeon traveler that had started to decorate her friend with jewelry.

"She certainly is. Two dungeons in less than a month."

Lenka choose this moment to run to the railing to be sick again and Sinbad started to wonder if he ever knew someone who was weaker to ships than her. The woman's sea-sickness clearly exceeded every assumption.

* * *

 **And chapter 10 is out for the public! Lenka conquers her second dungeon *Lenka bows and waves royally*. I had a funny time writing her torture on the ship *smiles devilishly* and with the events yet to come. You can always review or PM to tell me your opinion on this story or if you have questions or suggestions, I'd love to hear that.**

 **Thank you so very much for the support!**

 **Yours, humming with joy,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	11. Chapter 11 plus omake

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 11 Meeting the generals

Lenka stood at the bow of the _Star of the North_ and grinned with excitement at the island in front of her. Finally they had reached the Kingdom of Sindria and although her sea-sickness wasn't that bad any longer after the conquering of Gusion's dungeon the time she had spent on the ship was way too long for her taste. It was the early afternoon of the fifteenth day after the departure from Balbadd and she was more than happy to have steady ground under her feet soon again.

Sinbad stood next to her while Morgiana and Ja'far were under deck to convince Aladdin and Alibaba to leave their cabin.

"Ah, it feels good to be back," he said with a big grin, "I guess we will have a big welcoming feast."

Lenka shrugged slightly.

"I think that depends on how good the boys feel. Aladdin has left the cabin a few times yet I reckon they are not in the mood for celebrations. You can put me on your guest list though. I don't mind meeting new faces."

Sinbad patted her back causing Orobas to shout insults at him only Lenka could hear. Possessive was an understatement.

"That's good. Very good. Ah, you can see the city by now."

The ship passed a hole in the stone wall around the island and Lenka stopped breathing for a second. Sindria was truly beautiful. Tropical jungle grew in the southernmost part of the island while the royal palace throned on a hill over the city. The white houses were almost cubic and sometimes build on top of another and somehow reminded her of the Greek island she had visited with her parents when she was five. Flowers and laughter everywhere, happy children chasing each other while their parents were chatting, eating delicious looking dishes and enjoying their life.

Lenka shook her head in amazement and looked at Sinbad.

"This is paradise. Even in my world we would consider this paradise."

He started to grin brightly and the jewel on his turban reflected the light when he shifted his weight to have a better look at the city.

"It certainly is. I've done so much for Sindria and it's people that it feels as if the kingdom is-"

"Your child?" she chuckled. "I understand that very well. It's the same with my best friend Micaela. Whenever she had finished a new dress it was 'her baby' for a few days; it was the same with everything she made. I miss her quite a lot."

Sinbad nodded.

"Understandable."

Tapping sounds declared that Ja'far and Morgiana were back with Aladdin and Alibaba. The Magi stopped next to Lenka to look over to the city. The traveler frowned: Aladdin's eyes had lost their sparkling curiosity with Ugo's disappearance and his cheeks were pale. Alibaba didn't look better, his eyes were bloodshot from crying and insomnia.

"This is Sindria?" Aladdin asked slowly. Lenka nodded and petted him.

"It is beautiful, isn't it?"

"It is beautiful," Alibaba repeated weakly.

The citizens gathered at the port and started to cheer when the _Star of the North_ landed and a plank was let down to the landing area. Sinbad left the ship first under a shower of flowers two young girls threw at him. He smiled brightly and waved at everyone while Ja'far followed close behind and Masrur helped the guests on firm ground. Lenka gritted her teeth at the first meters she made on Sindrian soil: her legs felt like jelly and she wobbled like a toddler who took his first steps.

"Thank you very much," she told a boy who held out a flower necklace for her and grinned friendly at him.

 _This feels like Hawaii._

 _Hawaii?_ Orobas asked.

 _An island state similar to Sindria I reckon, yet much more volcanic._

 _Volcanoes are great, really great,_ he mused while Lenka followed the others to a carriage that brought them and their luggage to the palace. Overjoyed townspeople acclaimed the return of their king as the cart rolled upwards and Sinbad started to wave royally at them. Lenka smiled when she noticed that Alibaba and Aladdin started to recover from their depressed state and imitated Morgiana: they were gazing at the city with wide eyes, clearly impressed by it's beauty and the warm welcome they were receiving.

"Miss Lenka?"

The traveler looked at Ja'far who had spoken.

"When we arrive at the palace King Sinbad will assign rooms in the green Sagittarius tower to you, Morgiana, Aladdin and Alibaba. Your treasure will arrive later on this day. However, there will be a small banquet this evening to celebrate the king's return. Would you like to attend it as well or have your dinner delivered to your room? The servants will fulfill every wish you have."

Lenka bit on her lower lip then shot a quick glance at her fellows.

"I think I will attend the banquette, yet I don't think that the boys will. I have to look after them before and have a bath as well, if it is possible to prepare one in time."

Ja'far smiled.

"Of course. We will provide proper clothing for the evening. You're a guest after all."

"Thank you very much. I really appreciate your kindness," she replied with a relieved sigh. "Can I ask you a question?"

He nodded.

"Sure."

"I can't read or write the language of this world, only mine," Lenka said with a slightly pained expression. "Is it possible to have someone teach me how to properly read and write here? Someone qualified who will keep silent about my background as well, because I think it would be very hard to explain to a normal teacher."

Ja'far frowned for a second.

"I think I can manage to find someone capable. Is there a special reason why you want to learn how to write?"

"I promised my cutie Kougyoku to send a letter and asked her to write her name for me to prevent spelling mistakes. It was a bit embarrassing, I could have written a book to her and she would be unable to decode it. Every child in my home country get's taught how to read, write and numerate because these are important skills in our society. Plus I don't want to be dependent on someone who reads everything to me and might mislead me, isn't that so? I can tell you something about my world in return as a kind of payment, can't I?"

He nodded, satisfied with that answer and leaned back to watch the citizens.

"I'll get everything covered."

Almost fifteen minutes later the carriage reached the gates of the palace walls causing the guards to salute in front of the king. Again Sinbad was the first to step down to the ground, his metal vessels glittering in the light of the afternoon sun. Masrur and Ja'far followed close behind then Aladdin, Alibaba, Morgiana and Lenka. Four soldiers accompanied them to the huge gates then waited with for them to enter the palace. The traveler had to suppress a squeal.

 _Gorgeous! Buckingham palace is nothing compared to this!_

 _I have to admit that he has taste when it comes to the places where he stays,_ Orobas mumbled while the traveler nearly died from suppressing a fangirling attack. It was King Sinbad's royal palace after all.

They stopped in front of a group of six waiting persons in matching white and green uniforms who bowed in front of Sinbad.

 _Aaah the eight generals! The eight generals! Kyahahahaha!_

 _Lenka!_

 _...Is she always like that?_ Gusion asked the other djinn.

 _I recall one worse time, when we met the fallen Magi. That was torture. Pure hell._

The huge dragon-like Drakon spoke for all of them.

"King Sinbad, the eight generals bid you our humble greeting. We are glad that you've returned uninjured after hearing what the ambassadors told us about the situation in Balbadd."

Sinbad smiled royally at them.

"I appreciate your greeting. I had the help of these four in Balbadd and as thank I have them invited to Sindria to be my personal guests. That is a reason to have a welcoming feast for them."

The generals started to smile or grin and Sinbad chuckled then turned to his vizier.

"Ja'far, please assign rooms to our new guests and have a few servants take care of them then come to the meeting room."

Ja'far bowed.

"As you wish, my king."

Sinbad looked at Lenka and Alibaba who where the eldest of the four.

"Just tell the servants if you need something. You are welcome here."

Alibaba nodded while Lenka bowed slightly.

"We are very honoured to be your guests, King Sinbad."

The generals that hadn't met her frowned when hearing her accent but Sinbad seemed to be pleased with her behavior.

"After all you have done to help Sindria this is the least I should do. Well, I see you later when we hold the feast."

Ja'far cleared his throat.

"This way, please."

Lenka looked down then gave Aladdin a slight push to wake him from his curious glancing at the palace's interior and took his small hand in hers. The smile he gave her was a lot brighter than the others she had received during their travel by boat. Of course he would get better, settle his grief and return to being the happy child Lenka had met weeks ago in the caravan city and that was shown in the _manga_. A bit more mature, but still Aladdin. She frowned. And she would avoid him getting fat. That was a scene in the _manga_ that caused with her the same facial reaction that Sinbad had shown, the pure essence of 'er, eww, what?'.

The ex-assassin led them through a hall then to a marble staircase.

"This staircase leads to the guest rooms in the green Sagittarius tower. Your rooms are in the third floor if I remember correctly."

The small group ascended to a small hall with a public lounge for the guests staying on this floor, metal chandeliers, a emerald green carpet and a large window at the end of the corridor. It strongly reminded Lenka of the hotel her class stayed at during a field trip to Barcelona. And the manor she grew up in. Ah, bad idea to think of the manor, she shook her head then concentrated on Ja'far who was opening a door.

"This room is big enough for you."

Lenka cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Can I have a room for myself please? I'm rather uncomfortable when sharing with a male around my age, even though I doubt that Alibaba would do me harm."

The vizier looked from her to the other dungeon capturer then to Morgiana and finally back to Lenka.

"Of course, Miss Lenka. You are a lady after all."

Lenka felt the strong urge to facepalm or shake the small smirk out of his face.

"Don't tell me you forgot that I'm a girl. Please do me the favour."

"Of course I didn't forget that you are female. Morgiana, would you like to have a room on your own as well?"

The fanalis looked calmly at the adults.

"I'm okay with sharing with Aladdin and Alibaba."

 _They are so innocent,_ Orobas chuckled while Aladdin tugged at Lenka's vest to get her attention.

"Why won't you stay in our room, big sis?" he asked with pleading eyes. Lenka scratched her right temple.

"You see, Aladdin, it's inappropriate for a man and woman to share a room when they are both old enough to have children on their own, isn't it? They can only do that when they are married or in a relationship similar to marriage. I could share your room but then you would have a problem with Alibaba. I think he will die after blood loss through excessive nose bleed because I will sleep naked in this heat."

"Oh," Alibaba said and went cherry red while Ja'far coughed to conceal his laughter. Aladdin stared at his male friend then at Lenka.

"You're right. His head is way too red to be healthy."

Lenka thanked the Lord, Solomon and whoever would hear her prayers that Aladdin didn't ask her how or why a man and woman make children. That would be certainly awkward because she was sure that the small Magi wouldn't be able to sleep calm after that and Morgiana and Alibaba would be scarred for life as well.

"Miss Lenka, is this room here to your liking?" Ja'far asked and saved the traveler who instantly turned and examined it then smiled brightly at him.

"It's perfect, Ja'far. Thank you very much."

He blushed a bit then turned to the children.

"Both rooms have bathrooms behind those doors in the back. I will send servants to prepare baths for you and then again to get you for the feast this evening. Until now only Miss Lenka accepted the invitation. You will get some of the food if you decide to stay up here."

Alibaba shrugged.

"I'm not really in the mood for a feast," he mumbled.

"I think it is better if you stay up here too, Aladdin, Mor," Lenka said and grinned. "There will be alcohol and I heard that there are no parties like Sindrian parties when it comes to alcohol, fun and dancing, aren't they?"

Ja'far made a face at this comparison.

"Sadly yes. If you excuse me now, I have to attend a meeting."

"Bye Ja'far!" the four of them said in unison. Lenka placed her bag in the door frame of her room to stop the door from falling shut.

"Morgiana, you will bathe in my room. I don't think the boys will peep but it is better when it's just us girls, isn't it?"

Mor nodded and smiled while Aladdin pouted.

"Why can't I have a bath with you, big sis?" he complained. She grinned. Her brother Henry had asked exactly the same question a few months ago. She had given him a different answer though.

"Because you will grope me all the time."

"... Alibaba, your nose is bleeding."

"Don't die Alibaba!"

"That was a joke, Aladdin."

* * *

Lenka hummed contended while applying make-up. Not much, just a bit of silvery-gray eye liner and mascara, a color that would go well with the white sleeveless dress a maid had brought her after the traveler bathed to help her with her hair.

"I'm really glad the dress fits," Lenka sighed, closed her beauty case and walked over to the large wooden chest in which she had stored her clothes from London and Qishan. Sadly her backpack hadn't gotten the heavenly ability of unlimited storage so carrying everything around had been quite straining but she was sure the holiday in Sindria would cure the ache in her shoulders.

 _The servant had a hell of a time adjusting it,_ Orobas snickered.

"Shut up. I haven't asked them to grow this big."

The V-neck was almost too low for comfort and she was sure that she would flash her bra when bowing in front of Sinbad but the quality of the fabric was really good, the stitches were tiny and accurately made and the hem that ended a few inches above her knees was adorned with silver threads. The sandals that were part of the outfit fit as well, plus the exotic flowers that embellished her high bun smelled great.

"I'm so glad that there was a shaver in the beauty case as well. Whoever packed for me, I will be indebted for a long time."

 _Women,_ Orobas murmured. _I didn't know that you have scars on your left shoulder blade._

Lenka ignored him and glanced at the mirror, a polished bronze plate.

"Should I wear the biceps rings or not?" she mumbled then turned left and right to see them from different angles.

 _As long as I am with you everything is going to be alright._

… _don't forget about me,_ Gusion added.

"I miss Micaela's opinion," the traveler mused then decided to go with the jewelry. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's take a quick look after the kids, shall we?"

Lenka walked across the room that was even more gorgeous than the one in the Balbaddian hotel and opened the door. The servant who had brought the dress and helped with the hairdo stood in front of her, hand raised to knock at her door.

"Miss Lenka? General Ja'far asked me to bring you to the feast. If you would follow me."

"A second please," Lenka knocked at her friends room and peeked in. They were eating already but looked up when she entered.

"Lenka! You're beautiful!," cheered Aladdin while Morgiana smiled and Alibaba blushed. Lenka grinned and waved.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm off now. Enjoy your food and go to sleep early enough. Good night."

"Night!" answered three voices in more or less joyful tone. She chuckled and closed the door then turned to the waiting maid.

"We can go."

"Good," the maid said and rushed away. Lenka catched up with a few steps.

"Thank you for helping with my hair, it really looks gorgeous. What's your name?"

The maid, dark-haired and about eleven inches smaller than the foreigner blushed a bit.

"My name is Dalia, Miss."

"Nice to meet you then, Dalia. I hope you will be the one taking care of me during my time in Sindria."

Dalia's blush deepened. She seemed really pleased.

"I'm glad that you are happy with my services."

Dalia led Lenka into the main hall where Sinbad and the eight generals were waiting for her. She blinked then counted again. Seven. Ja'far was still missing. The small Pisti spotted her first and advised the king of his guest's arrival. Sinbad grinned brightly as he scanned Lenka's dress.

"Ah, Lenka. The dress really suits you yet your jewelry doesn't shine as bright as your eyes."

Lenka smiled and shook her head.

"Thank you for the compliment King Sinbad yet I thought we had discussed this matter well enough in Balbadd, didn't we? Sorry that I am late but I had to look after the others to see if they were alright."

He waved the excuse aside.

"We are not late because Ja'far is not here yet. Let me introduce the remaining six of the eight generals to you. Drakon who is the commander of the military officers," he pointed on the dragon-like man, "Hinahoho from Imchaq," the huge blue-haired man grinned down on Lenka, "Spartos from Sasan," Spartos nodded a greeting, "Sharrkan from Heliohapt," the dark-skinned sword fighter waved, "Yamraiha, our mage from Magnostadt," who smiled at Lenka then bowed, "and last but not least, Pisti from Artemyra." Pisti smiled and waved. Lenka thought that Sinbad looked incredibly proud of his generals.

She bowed slightly to greet them politely while trying at the same time not to flash her underwear.

" My name is Lenka, the traveller and dungeon capturer, Solomon's warrior and guardian of the Magi. It's a pleasure to meet Sindria's famous eight generals. Even in my home country stories of your adventures with King Sinbad are told. I'm very honoured to meet you in person."

 _Only those who read the_ manga _-thing you thought about know of their existence,_ Orobas said.

 _First impressions are important to make friendships,_ Gusion as the djinn of friendships answered. However the generals plus their king looked very flattered then in the next moment their jaws fell to the marble floor.

"Solomon's warrior?!" yelled Sharrkan and waved his hands in shock.

"Guardian of the Magi!?" screamed Yamraiha and nearly lost her hat as she ran to the blonde, took a hand and examined her magoi.

"No way!" squealed Pisti while Spartos blinked twice to show his surprise. Drakon looked at Sinbad.

"She is a dungeon capturer as well? Your luck is unrivaled, Sinbad."

"And she is pretty," Hinahoho grinned. "She would be a great mother."

Sinbad started to cough while Masrur answered:

"... she turned him down already and her djinn said he would rip him apart if he made a move on her again. And that was before he suspected her of being a spy from Kou."

Hinahoho's face fell while Drakon sighed and hid his behind a hand.

"Seriously, Sinbad?"

The High King of the Seven Seas started to whistle a tune to fake innocence under the piercing glare of his generals.

"... he messed up royally."

"Masrur!" yelped Sinbad while Hinahoho and Drakon nodded with knowing faces.

"You have way too much magoi to be normal!"

Yamraiha was really surprised, excited and curious at the same time. This person, Lenka, was someone you don't meet every day. And even more...

"Ja'far asked me to help you with your writing problem, I'm really looking forward to working with you!"

Lenka beamed.

"Thank you very much!"

"Take care, she will turn you into a bookworm in no time and pester you with that talk about the superiority of magic all day long until you believe her," Sharrkan said and patted the traveler's back while giving her a flirtatious grin. Yamraiha fumed.

"Why you sword maniac! Of course magic is superior to swordsmanship, it will always be!"

"Nuh-uh, the sword is stronger. Realize it, it was, is and will always be better than your stagy magic."

The mage grabbed his ear while he pinched her cheek.

"You-"

"Let go of my ear!"

"Djinn equip!"

The couple stopped their bickering and stared at Lenka in confusion who chuckled.

"I think djinn equip is superior. It combines powerful magic with swords so you can shoot magic at your enemy then stab him with your blade! It's the perfect pairing, isn't it? Like Magical Girl Mode! Oh, sorry that's an inside joke from my home, just forget the last comment."

"No problem, but I think you're right," snickered Sinbad who had stepped closer to his dumbstruck generals. "We should do some sparring from time to time, Lenka, so that we won't loose our edge."

She gave him an ironic smile.

"You just want to see me in pervert equip, don't you? I hope that I will master Gusion soon, her armour won't be as revealing as Orobas' I reckon."

"Double dungeon capturer!?" screamed Sharrkan, Pisti and Yamraiha in unison. Drakon facepalmed again, Spartos raised his eyebrows and Hinahoho burst out in laughter.

"Damn, Sinbad, you really messed up this time. Your children would have been unstoppable."

"First the duty, then friends and food, then romance," Lenka stated with a big grin.

"I can only repeat myself, Miss Lenka is someone that outmatches every assumption," Ja'far said while appearing from behind Hinahoho's broad figure.

"Ja'far is here, we can go!" yelled Pisti and jumped up and down.

* * *

 _There are no parties like Sindrian parties,_ Orobas mused.

 _Indeed._

Lenka felt great. The food was even more delicious than in Balbadd, or maybe she was hungry enough to eat everything and think of it as delicious after the travel on the torture ship. No, the food was delicious. Even though it wasn't Maharaghan, the harvest feast, everyone was invited and celebrated the return of the king with alcohol, music, food, good alcohol, dancing and even more alcohol. The traveler sat with the generals, chatted with them and had a really good time. The wine, red Sindrian wine, had a rich flavor and was very tasty, even though she missed _Vodka Red Bull_ , _Pina Colada_ and gin.

"I feel the strong urge to sing and dance, but that would be pretty embarrassing in this dress," she told Pisti and Yamraiha who sat with her. Pisti blinked at the blonde sitting at the other side of the table she had started to call 'Len' after five goblets of wine.

"Why? You have enough boobs to show them. Why do you have such big boobs?" she complained. Apparently she had a complex, thought Lenka and emptied her eight cup then bit in a piece of bread.

"Didn't want them to grow this huge, 's uncomfortable. Everyone stares at them," said Yamraiha with slurred voice and stretched her arms.

"You're showing them to everyone with that shells!"

"If it makes you feel better, I was as flat as a board when I was twelve," Lenka told the other girl. "Then I beat everyone in a fighting tournament and they started to grow. Whenever I defeated someone stronger than me, they grew bigger.

Don't worry, boobs are only lumps of fat, if you eat enough yours will grow bigger in no time. And when you'll have babies they will grow even more. And they will grow until you're forty if you eat well. But you'll need to collect the booby fat in a bra before it goes down to your butt."

Lenka giggled at her last sentence while Pisti blinked owlishly.

"Whassa bra?" she slurred. The dungeon capturer tugged at her V-neck to flash her lacy underwear.

"That's a bra."

"Why essactly are we talkin' 'bout boobs?" asked Yamraiha causing Lenka to grin mischievously.

"I wanted to see if we can make Spartos's face blushing as red as his hair."

The women turned to their co-general at the table next to them and started to grin as well. Spartos had indeed a light blush on his face and his ears.

"Ah, ladies, enjoying yourself?"

A unmistakably drunken Sharrkan slumped down on the bench next to Lenka and poured himself another goblet of wine. Yamraiha glared at him.

"Get lost, sword maniac."

He ignored her and cupped his chin in his hand to look at Lenka.

"So, what's a pretty flower like ya doin' in a night like this?"

"We're lookin' if we can make Spartos blush," Pisti giggled. Sharrkan gulped down his wine and pointed with the cup on her. He was swaying already even though he was sitting down.

"A noble, hic, endeavor, ladies. We have ta get the stick out off his ass. Have ya thought about... "

he leaned over the table and lowered his voice, "givin' him a big smooch? That would make his head essplode!"

He started to laugh and tried to drink from his empty cup. Lenka had a flash of genius.

"Sharrkan, why would you think about kissing Spartos? Are you into guys?"

The sword fighter spluttered in shock while Yamraiha pointed on Spartos.

"Ha! His head is red!" she cheered then joined the laughter. Lenka patted the speechless man's shoulder.

"I's not bad to think of members of the same sex as attractive. There's nothing wrong with you, it's perfectly fine with us girls. It's admirable that you are mentally strong enough to cope with the pressure from the other males. We will be here for you if you have a problem with their bullying, dear."

"You're a devil!" he yelled and tried to stand up to get away from her while Yamraiha and Pisti had tears of laughter in their eyes witnessing their friend's struggle.

"Miss Lenka, don't tease Sharrkan," scolded Ja'far who appeared behind them.

"Ja'far! My savior!" cried Sharrkan and patted the ex-assassin's shoulder. Lenka grinned.

"Ja'far! Thank you for saving me when you were assigning rooms! I didn't have to give Aladdin _the talk_ yet! You saved his innocence! Cheers for you!"

"Cheers!" Pisti, Yamraiha and Sharrkan emptied their cups while Ja'far blinked in surprise.

"Which talk?"

The traveler smirked.

"The talk about why adult men and women can't share a room and how to make babies of course!"

"Ah," he said then looked at the empty wine jars on the table. "Haven't you had enough alcohol already, Miss Lenka?"

"Just call me Lenka, cutie. I'm a heavy drinker and can hold my liquor pretty well, plus I plan on getting hammered. Getting really drunk," she explained when seeing their clueless faces. "I am pretty dangerous when drunk, not as in getting into fights, but dangerous as in perverted dangerous. Some might faint when I'm done snogging them. That always happened when I went to parties back home, and the next day the guys would chase after me asking what I had done to their girlfriends."

"Oh great, a female Sinbad," Pisti giggled while Ja'far looked worried. The foreigner shook her finger at the other girl.

"I won't rape you, just give you the best kisses of your life."

"I don't rape, I make love! I give them the best night of their lives!" the king shouted from his place two desks away causing a uncontrolled laughing fit with the generals, Lenka and the girls fawning over him. Even Spartos chuckled slightly while Sharrkan rolled on the floor holding his stomach. Suddenly bright colors filled the dark sky, loud booms and crackling sounds were heard.

"Fireworks!" cheered Pisti and threw her hands up. Lenka joined the cheering as golden sparks like Rukh competed with the stars' brightness. Sindria was paradise.

"Lenka, I chall'nge ya to a drinkin' copet-, compent-"

"Competition? Bring it on, Sharrkan!"

* * *

 **Chapter 11! Wow, I just remembered I did the brainstorming and plot outline for the story at the end of march and I started writing on April 1st... four months ago... time sure flies by. Anyway, because I had the time and inspiration from an extra chapter in _Adventures of Sinbad_ I wrote an Omake for you. Enjoy!**

The djinn's shared flat (after chapter 10)

Gusion stared at the door. Cherry wood. Golden handle. The entrance to the spiritual space she would share with the queen she chose. The first and only human to enter he dungeon and made it to the treasury, a very interesting specimen. Lenka, the young busty woman, grinning wide, always ready to argue with someone, with the gray pants and short top dressed like she came from the place the djinn had called a home... that was now not a homely place any more.

Gusion shook her head and opened the door.

"Pardon the intrusion."

"At least you've decided to come in!" a male voice complained. She tried not to frown as she saw Orobas sitting at the dinner table, sipping tea and eating sweets. As always he wore several pounds of golden chains instead of a proper shirt to the white cloth he wore a skirt/shorts/whatever, they were even dangling from his horns and arms. Gold, gold, gold. Even his eyes were golden.

Gusion turned around to open the door again.

"Wrong room."

"Noo, you can't go now!"

That guy dared to hug her midriff to use his body as extra weight to keep her from leaving! And even under her intense, angered stare he wouldn't loose his grip but continue to to ramble about companions in misfortune, good times and something like that. The female djinn started to feel a headache coming up, so she sighed and shot the door a last pained glance. Good bye, peaceful life.

"I stay."

Orobas looked up with a bright smile and Gusion immediately regretted her words. That jerk was the same as always, using his handsome face to get others to obey his will. Not as worse as Focalor, but still a danger to womankind.

"Really? I have to show you around then!"

Or maybe he was the worse one. He pointed on the interior decoration and commented everything that was there, grinning like a child on his birthday.

"This is the common room. The kitchen table. Sweets. Tea. The kitchen. The door to my metal vessel. The door to yours. The couch. And finally, the LSS!"

The what? Orobas probably had seen her blank face and raced to the huge black board.

"May I present, the Lenka-Supervision-Screen!"

She had been sure he hadn't been _that_ mad back in the other world, but years of isolation must have done severe damage to his brain, or why else would he act like a complete maniac? Gusion realized that he was waiting for a reaction of hers, if she interpreted the sparkle in his eyes, the strange pose and the appearing sweatdrops correctly.

"uhm... Yeey?"

That was the right thing to say, Orobas hopped on the couch in front of the screen and pointed with a small black device on it whereupon a picture replaced the black. A beautiful island appeared – apparently they were looking through their queen's eyes – and a man with long purple hair, several necklaces, a strange headdress that looked like someone had given him a piece of cloth and told him to do something with that and he wrapped it around his head and decorated it with a jewel, several rings on his fingers and a winning smile on his lips. Even from Gusion's not very human-like point of view the man was handsome yet he seemed to trigger something in Orobas.

"You! Don't smirk at her like that! Get your hands off my Lenka!"

Okay, they had met before. And Orobas's cussing got even worse a the man asked Lenka if the island was to her liking which meant that the guy had done something bad to their queen.

"What did he do to her?"

Orobas scowled at the man.

"He dared to lay hand on our queen. He kissed her."

"So what?"

Orobas looked at her as if she had said that she was okay with drowning kittens and eating puppies alive.

"This is OUR queen?"

Gusion was sure that she had not many options now, either agree and let him have his will or to run away fast, so she shrugged and poured herself a cup of tea to escape the madness he was spreading, which was not easy if you had flippers instead of normal hands. But what was normal if you were a djinn?

"If you say so."

Sometimes this was the best thing to say to someone.

"I knew you were not that bad, Gusion. Come, sit next to me so we can think of a strategy to get rid of the stupid king!"

Or maybe not.

* * *

 **I laughed when I saw what Sinbad's djinn were doing when he's not using them for the djinn equip. Baal brushing Valefor...**

 **Thanks for all the support, I'm so happy that you're reading the story! Feel free to tell me your opinion on Second Chance, suggestions or if you have questions!**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 12 Living in Sindria

The birds were way too loud. Lenka groaned and searched through her medicine kit until she found a small package with a promising name.

"Adieu headache," she said and gulped two white powdery pills down.

 _Geez, don't celebrate this hard when you don't like the feeling of hangover,_ Orobas scolded.

 _Do you like the feeling of hangover? Because you're making it sound as if she has to like the feeling to have a reason to party,_ Gusion asked her co-djinn.

"I don't like the feeling but I want to party, that's why I take pills against the headache. Modern medicine is so great!"

Even with an obvious lack of sleep Lenka was too energetic to be called crapulous so she decided to look after her friends. Alibaba and Aladdin were still fast asleep but Morgiana was missing; the traveler was sure the fanalis girl was out and training with Masrur already. She smiled then slowly closed the door, turned around-

"Holy Solomon, Ja'far!" she squealed when jumping in surprise. "Please don't sneak up on people like that until you want them to die from a heart attack!"

She was sure that his smile was a bit cheeky.

"I came to fetch you to your first lesson with Yamraiha."

Lenka perked up instantly.

"Just wait a second please, I go and grab my pad and pens!"

"We have enough parchment for you, quills and ink as well."

"I know, but I can work better with my own tools," she told Ja'far who waited in her door frame as the traveler collected the items she needed and her anatomy book as well.

"Okay, I'm done."

He looked at her with slight interest while they walked to the staircase.

"I'm surprised that you don't have a hangover after your excessive drinking the night before, especially after you and Sharrkan had that drinking competition..."

Lenka blinked then grinned.

"I wasn't that drunk, I remember that I found the way to my room on my own. By the way, how did Sharrkan get back in his?"

Ja'far snorted gently.

"Masrur carried him after he fainted. I hope that he learned his lesson now but I fear he hasn't. Yamraiha has her laboratories in the black Libra tower where we have a library and school as well. I would teach you myself but during my absence the amount of work I usually do has increased."

"A library? I hope I will be able to read again soon. The literature here must be very interesting."

"It certainly is as long as you remember that not everything some authors write is the truth" he answered with slight disapprove mixed in his calm voice. Lenka chuckled.

"As far as I noticed you don't have seven horns, have you? And the fire you breathe is metaphorical fire under your king's lazy butt."

She blinked surprised at Ja'far. Was that really a wide grin the stern vizier showed her? He looked really nice, even cute and she had a hard time suppressing the fangirl-y squeal that would definitely scare every human around and have her banned from the island. They crossed a courtyard, entered another part of the palace and stopped in front of a heavy door. Ja'far knocked three times and waited. And waited. His expression darkened for a second and Lenka felt a cold shudder creep up her spine. He raised his hand to knock again when Yamraiha flung the door open.

"I'm so sorry, I was doing some research and didn't hear your knocking! So sorry! Please don't be mad!"

 _Wooow, he controls the whole palace,_ Orobas whistled in amazement. Ja'far gave his co-general a gentle smile.

"It's okay, Yamraiha. You're doing me a favor when teaching Lenka how to read and write again."

The mage nodded eagerly and had to grab her hat to keep it on her head.

"Of course! I'm really looking forward to it!"

"Then I will excuse myself now."

He bowed in front of the women then turned and hurried away. Yamraiha sighed as if a heavy weight had disappeared from her shoulders and smiled at Lenka.

"I see you are well-prepared. Come in."

Yamraiha's laboratory was stuffed with wondrous devices, crammed bookshelves, desks full of scrolls and potion flasks. A real magician's workplace. Humming she cleaned on of the desks and two chairs then assigned one to Lenka then placed a pile of books in front of her.

"I collected some books that might be interesting and helpful for your studies."

The traveler smiled, took the first and opened it to look at a random page.

"Yamraiha? Can you please note down your alphabet first? I'm afraid that I have to make a dictionary."

The mage tilted her head and grinned.

"Sure. I'd love to learn your alphabet as well."

She picked up a scroll, a quill and ink and drew a symbol.

"This is the letter 'A'."

Lenka copied the sign in her pad and wrote the Roman alphabet's 'A' under it.

"This will be hell."

* * *

"I told you this would be hell," Lenka complained two hours later. After they had written down the alphabet the blonde had transcribed a passage from a book called _Magic Studies on Shields and Shielding_ and translated it in her own world's letters. The result was half a page of an unintelligible language so Yamraiha had started to explain the text word for word and Lenka noted them down as the first entries for her dictionary. Sadly her teacher's writing style was done with thick strokes so that the characters were very hard to distinguish and thus she had to compare the letters to the book again.

"Yeah, but you've progressed very much already," Yamraiha said absently while she thumbed through Lenka's anatomy book. "This is so advanced. Maybe we can translate it into my language too."

The blonde hummed in agree.

"I will spend six months here at least until I continue my travelling. Say, can you please teach me a simple thunder spell?"

The mage looked up.

"You're not suitable to be a magician because you don't have a borg, but... I think I can. Ask the Rukh to turn into electricity and turn into a ball then to hit the place where your enemy stands."

Lenka nodded then stretched her arms and yawned.

"How about we end this for today and get us something to eat? I'm starving."

"Good idea."

Yamraiha closed the book and handed it back to it's owner. Together they left the laboratory and walked towards the kitchen where they were provided with a light meal they consumed in a small but bright dining room.

"So what are your plans for today?" the mage asked before taking a sip of her juice. Lenka shrugged.

"I will bring my things back to my room, visit Aladdin and then the silver Scorpio tower. During the time I spent on that torture boat I had no possibility to train and I fear that I have gained weight. Hopefully someone is willing to spar with me."

Yamraiha chuckled.

"Sharrkan surely will after you crushed him in the drinking competition..."

"I think he is still hungover."

"Well, I had a potion to cure myself," she said looking extremely proud. "And that's why magic is better. You can't cure a headache with a sword."

Lenka grinned.

"You can, if you chop your head off."

They burst out in laughter then left the room. Yamraiha brought her back to the green Sagittarius tower then searched for Ja'far to report how well the teaching had went while Lenka climbed up to her companion's room. It was still dark and the air was musty so she crossed the chamber and opened the curtains and windows. Aladdin and Alibaba groaned and peeked out of their beds when the sunlight shone on them. The traveler grinned devilishly, grabbed their blankets and threw them as far away as they flew. Not out of the window, though, she didn't want to have an argument with the gardener because she had flattened the roses or something like that.

"Too bright," mumbled Alibaba and hid under his pillow while Aladdin yawned and rubbed his eyes. Lenka seized another cushion to hit the blonde prince with it.

"Stand up you cissy! Fight like a man!"

"Oi! What is you problem?!"

The door opened again and Morgiana entered. Her face brightened as she saw Lenka.

"Pillow fight?" she asked with slight mischief.

"It's not a just fight, my dear. This is pillow war!"

"Get away!" screamed Alibaba and tried to hit his tormentor as a third cushion met his facial area. With a muffled cry he fell from the bed.

"... my win," said Morgiana while Aladdin laughed so much that tears ran down his face.

"It's not over yet!"

A red-faced Alibaba climbed back onto the mattress, a pillow in each hand. "Taste my pillow!"

"Mor! Girl power! Unified!" yelled Lenka as the fanalis jumped forward. Alibaba dropped his weapons.

"I surrender! Ack!"

Mor had successfully tackled him and sat on his back. She sniffed then made a disgusted face.

"... you stink. You didn't bathe yesterday."

"Ew, you know, Alibaba, girls like men who not always reek of sweat. And baths are very good for one's health, you don't get serious illnesses and parasites if you bathe at least two times a week."

"Two times?!"

Lenka nodded.

"I showered every day back home after training and washed my hair as well."

Mor stood up and brushed her dress's hem.

"... I get you something to eat."

"Thanks Mor!" Aladdin chirped and jumped of the bed to hug Lenka.

"Morning, big sis."

"Morning? It's noon already, haven't you heard the bells?" she said and scratched his back. "I was with Yamraiha of the eight generals up until now and she taught me this world's writing. That reminds me of something. Can you write, Aladdin?"

He peered past her breasts up to her face.

"A bit. Why do you ask?"

"I just thought that you could write Ugo what happens to you every day so that he knows what you're doing. I'm sure the Rukh will reach him when you read your letters to them."

"Really?" His face brightened and he jumped up and down. "That's a good idea! No wonder you're my big sister, you're incredibly clever!"

Lenka laughed and ruffled his hair.

"Only in my world, dear. I have to study everything again in this one. By the way, I will go to the silver Scorpio tower now to train my djinn equip and do a warm up. I have gained weight," she admitted with a grimace. Aladdin blinked then moved his fingers.

"No Aladdin, you don't want to grope me right now."

"Okay."

* * *

The silver Scorpio tower was a light-flooded building where the other guests of the palace could train as well. Lenka saw sparring pairs, weapons glistening in the light and instantly felt welcome. She dropped her pink tupperware bottle, her sword, vest and shoes at the edge of the field and started with a warmup of yoga moves, pilates and other gymnastics. It was afternoon now, about four o'clock and a gentle breeze made the hot air a bit more bearable. She had spent an hour to get her smartphone recharged, a very difficult task as she had to reach the voltage the device needed to gain energy without toasting herself. While Orobas sang with _Imagine Dragons_ and _Maroon 5_ the dungeon capturer curled and flexed, bent and stretched through a couple of exercises she was taught years ago until her legs shivered and her white top from London was soaked with sweat.

Suddenly a pair of dark-skinned feet in sandals came to the fore. Lenka pulled an earplug out and looked at Sharrkan; the man stared at her in awe while she was almost flat on the floor with her legs spread wide and her hands on her ankles. In a fluid motion she released her grip, did a roll backwards and stood up.

"Hey there, Sharrkan. Have you defeated your hangover?"

"Almost. That was some crazy stretching you did there. You must be awesome in bed."

 _Err, are you hitting on her too?_ yelled Orobas. Lenka shook her head and gave him a half smile while switching the music off.

"I don't sleep around, but thank you for the compliment."

"Aw, come on, how old are you anyways? You must have had a lover or two already with that body of yours."

She blinked. How old was she now?

"Wait a second, I have to count... I think I'm going to be nineteen in about... fifty-three days."

Sharrkan grinned brightly.

"Is that so? We will hold a big feast then, bigger than yesterday! Maybe the mage can make herself useful and summon a southern sea creature and then we can hold a maharaghan! And this time I won't loose in a drinking contest!"

Lenka grinned mischievously while standing with her hands on her hips.

"You won't be able to defeat me in drinking, Sharrkan. Hinahoho and Drakon certainly would and I'm almost sure that I can beat Sinbad too."

"Nah, our king drinks like a fish, not like a pretty white girl like you," he snickered then his eyes widened with excitement. "You have a sword? Can you use it? Wanna spar a bit?"

Lenka nodded eagerly.

"That would be great. I heard that you are a master with the blade, aren't you? Please be forgiving, I haven't had the time to train properly since a month or two."

His white teeth glinted when he grinned and stepped in the middle of a pavilion to unsheathe his curved blade.

"Don't worry, I'm always nice to girls."

Lenka grinned and grabbed her unbreakable katana. A bit heavier than the sabers she was used to from fencing but that wouldn't be a disadvantage.

"Ready when you are, bombshell."

She inhaled then rushed forward to attack his right shoulder. Sharrkan warded it off with ease and counterattacked. Soon they were enlaced in a fast and heated fight, the clangor of their swords filled the air as they stabbed and slashed at each other. Now she could see that Sharrkan was indeed a supreme swordsman. His style was polished and refined, fit for a real battle to the blood while her own was forged in a clean hall on two evenings a week since her fifth birthday and in the competitions she had taken part where everyone fought almost the same way. Luckily she had Orobas who screamed commands in her head although they were sometimes very confusing. Even so she held her ground well until Sharrkan did a quick pirouette and she had to dodge the metal ball attached to the chain he wore that came flying in the direction of her stomach. She froze as she felt the cold sword near her throat.

"I surrender."

He grinned and sheathed his blade before slumping down.

"Whew, you're really good. I had to try hard sometimes."

Lenka grabbed her bottle and drank a a few gulps before she sat down as well and offered the bottle to her sparring partner who gladly accepted.

"You're worlds beyond me. I'm glad that I have the time to train with you more often since I will stay here until Aladdin leaves."

"Oh, yeah, you're his protector, aren't ya?" he said and gave her the bottle back. "You'll need my advice to guard him well."

She nodded then stretched her arms.

"I'm really blessed that I get so much and so good tutoring as well as a luxurious lodging. I hope I can return the favour some day."

"Of course you will," a deep voice answered. Lenka and Sharrkan turned to look at Sindria's king and his vizier. Sharrkan instantly jumped up to bow.

"My king."

Sinbad patted his shoulder then smiled at Lenka.

"I see you have convinced Sharrkan to train with you, Lenka."

"I did. He is a good teacher and an even better fighter, isn't he?" she answered and brushed dust off her pants. "What leads you here, Sinbad?"

"I wanted to see how your training with your second djinn goes."

"Gusion," she said absently and uncapped the bottle again. "I thought she was a water djinn but in her dungeon were a lot of nasty poisonous creatures too."

 _I can control any fluid and turn it into gas, hard or jelly, and acid. Especially acid,_ the djinn answered.

 _Can you lend me your power?_

… _I will._

Lenka concentrated on the water and imagined how it rose from the pink bottle and floated in the air. And grinned as the liquid reacted as she pleased. Sinbad nodded his approval as she ordered the water to change into ice then again into water then forced it back into the container.

"That was not bad. I believe that water djinn are easier to manage because you can imagine the djinn equip easier than with the fire kind."

"You have to meet Gusion and change your opinion then," she said with a slight chuckle. Ja'far cleared his throat.

"Yamraiha told me about your morning. She was very contented with your progress."

"You met the mage?" Sharrkan yelped while Lenka chose to ignore him and answered the vizier

"Is that so? I'm glad because we had quite the difficulties with her handwriting and the language. The alphabet was not a problem but the words are."

"She certainly has a vivid writing style," he agreed with a smile then turned serious again. "If your writing is well enough you can help me in the office. You know your arithmetic?"

"Ja'far, I can do curve sketching, charge your household budget and evaluate any stochastic problem you have. I got a prize for having the best mathematic final exam in my school as well as in physics and in chemistry. I was educated to lead a company and know a bit about politics too. I can do almost everything."

The second time on this day he smiled brightly at her but now a shudder ran down her spine despite the hot air.

"I'm sure that I will find a sufficient occupation for you, Miss Lenka."

 _Your mouth is way too big to do you good, Lenka._

* * *

 _Dear Kougyoku,_

 _I'm finally able to write you a letter that isn't full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. After the incident in Balbadd King Sinbad invited me to Sindria where I write this letter to you. I hope you will have the chance to talk to him during his stay in Kou. He had Yamraiha, one of his eight generals teach me the alphabet and then the language which I'm still learning at this moment and now his vizier Ja'far uses me as personal assistant and calculator – I can't complain, I get a bit of pocket money which I spend for snacks in the city. Everyone here is so nice to me and I'm glad that I can help them in some way._

 _When we traveled from Balbadd to Sindria a dungeon appeared which I conquered. My new djinn goes by the name Gusion, is female and a spirit that controls any fluid. That's quite funny, I'll never have wine stains on my clothes after one of the famous Sindrian parties again. Trust me, there are no parties like Sindrian parties. I had one for my nineteenth birthday two weeks ago and I'm still a bit hungover after I won over Sharrkan of the eight generals again in a drinking contest. They caught a southern sea beast on that day too and the whole city had their famous maharaghan. I was able to show off my skills at dancing that are completely different from what you know. Maybe I will dance for you some day – just kidding. Okay, I do if you ask nicely._

 _I still struggle to maintain Gusion's weapon equip, she is really baulky. Hopefully you can give me some advice on how to get on good terms with a female djinn. By the way, I hate travels by ship. I get severe sea-sickness that will last until I leave the boat. It's really bad._

 _I've been a guest in the palace for almost two months now. I start in the morning with a revision of my vocabulary and it's expansion, then I go to help in the office. You won't believe your eyes if you saw the mountains of scrolls they bring in every day. After lunch I have free time, I go to the city with my companions Aladdin – the Magi, Alibaba – Prince of Balbadd and vessel user, and Morgiana – skilled fighter and my backing in vicious pillow fights as well as with Pisti, another general. We girls have a hard time to get the boys out of their mourning state after their losses but we managed to distract them after we arrived in Sinbad's paradise island. Before dinner I go to the training area and try to get a weapon equip with Gusion or do a sparring with Sharrkan, Morgiana or someone else._

 _I really hope you get the chance to visit me here soon because I need a partner for girl's talk and the decimation of sweets and fruit. They are even more delicious than in Balbadd and I really have to train hard to not get fat._

 _Yours, Lenka._

"Here you go," she said and handed the sealed letter over to Sharrkan. "I skin you alive if you loose it."

He grinned and saluted.

"Don't worry, your princess will get her letter for sure."

"Have a save trip," Lenka smiled at her friend who continued to grin. In the past months she had become extremely close to the younger generals as they spent very much of their time together: Yamraiha had continued her teaching and she sparred not only with Sharrkan now but with Spartos as well, Pisti became her companion on long strolls through the city on which she dragged Aladdin, Alibaba and Morgiana out of the palace too. The petite princess from Artemyra had a lot of fun while looking for dresses for Lenka and Mor and the dungeon capturer was reminded of Micaela again as well as Kougyoku. A day before Sinbad's travel to Kou she had finally finished her letter for her friend after receiving help not only from Yamraiha but also from Ja'far who was almost ecstatic that he had finally an assistant who was not only willing but capable of helping him with the official matters of the palace.

"At least you worry about me."

"Did Yam tell you to drown halfway to Kou?"

"Worse, she said she would do it herself."

"I think she would be really sad if you died," she mused and nudged him playfully. "She likes you."

Sharrkan snorted but Lenka caught the glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"She is a pain in the ass with her superiority of magic talk."

"You're not a tad better, Sharrkan. Have you packed already?"

He ignored the first part of her sentence and nodded while they left the library where she had finished her report to Kougyoku.

"Yeah, just have to stuff your letter in now. Oh, good evening, King Sinbad."

"Sharrkan. Good to hear that you have finished packing your luggage by now," the king said with a friendly smile then concentrated on Lenka.

"Can I have a word with you? In private," he added as she changed a glance with his general who grinned.

"Sure. You'll send me off tomorrow, Len?"

She nodded then waved.

"Of course I will. Bye then, Sharrkan. And don't forget the letter."

"I won't," he assured her then left with a pat on his king's shoulder. "Have a nice chat, my King."

Lenka squinted her eyes as Sinbad sighed. What did Sharrkan mean? Would he ban her from Sindria?

The king noticed her intense stare and frowned.

"Don't look at me like that. I just wanted to know how your stay was up until now."

Lenka relaxed a bit and shrugged.

"It's really nice here. Everyone is friendly and – are you hiding behind that pillar to eavesdrop, Sharrkan?!"

At her yell the dark-skinned man walked through the hallway to the door, hands behind his head and smiling innocently.

"I just had to fix my chain, the weight came off."

"Sure it did," she said while rolling her eyes. Sinbad chuckled and touched her back lightly with his right.

"This way, the gardens should be quiet and cool at this time of the day."

 _That sounds to me as if he wants to hit on you again,_ Orobas murmured and Lenka silently agreed. She thought that they had settled their dispute in Balbadd when she helped with Alibaba's training and during the fight against the black djinn yet this situation was way too awkward for her. So she continued the small talk.

"So, where was I? My stay here, right? I'm really happy that you invited me too. Here are so many friendly people who try to help me with my problems that I don't know how to thank them in a proper way. The least I can do is to share the little I know from school back home."

She stopped when she realized that she had started to babble but Sinbad didn't seem to mind. He was smiling at her when he led her through a door into the inner garden.

"That's good to hear. As I recall my generals are quite fond of you too. Ja'far and Yamraiha told me about your eagerness to learn and to help with the official matters, Sharrkan complimented your progress in swordsmanship while Pisti mentioned shopping trips... Did she help you when picking out the clothes you're wearing now?"

Lenka chuckled as she remembered the tour where the small blonde had dragged her into almost every clothing shop on the island until they had found a wrapped green neckholder dress that ended over her knees. With her flying scarf used as sash it didn't look like a sack any longer but rather cute and the jewelry she wore made up for the missing ornaments.

"I think it's my fate to be used by friends as dress-up doll, yet Pisti was really understanding when I told her to pick not so revealing clothes, wasn't she? But I'm really thankful for her help.

So, you called me out to ask me something, didn't you?"

He tensed slightly at her bold question then sighed.

"You are very straight-forward. It's true, I have a question."

He stopped next to a small fountain in a remote part of the garden to look at her, his golden eyes were clear and honest.

"Could you imagine being a part of the Sindrian kingdom?"

Lenka blinked in surprise then loosely covered her mouth with her right hand.

 _Did he just ask what I thought he would never ask? Didn't he hate me?_

 _I fear I heard the same, Lenka. I'm a djinn of faithfulness and truth, and he speaks the truth as he holds no ill intention towards you. You should answer him._

 _Err..._

"Is this a proposal?" she asked with caution. "If so then I have to decline. I don't think that I will stay here forever, so marriage is a bit... You don't hate me?" she blurted out as he answered not instantly. Sinbad looked at her in confusion.

"Why should I hate you? You did nothing to make me hate you. But it's sad that you turned me down. Again," he added with a slight chuckle. Lenka blushed.

"It's just... I don't know how to say it, after the incident in Balbadd when I went with Kougyoku you were very upset. And you should only marry someone you truly love," she said and her blush deepened. "I mean, it's not as if I won't like you, you're a great man, yet you're ten years or so older and I don't like you like that – stop mocking me!" Lenka growled as he started to laugh. She felt incredibly stupid and childish now so to keep at least a shred of her dignity she turned away to get her red face back to it's normal color.

"Git."

Okay, she was indeed childish yet he stopped laughing and walked around her to face her again.

"I'm sorry for laughing at you, but you can't deny that this was funny."

"Oh yes, har har, I'm dying from laughing."

"Yet it's a pity that you won't join me. Sindria would have gained very much from you."

Lenka's features turned soft as she saw his pleading glance but she shook her head.

"I have a duty to fulfill first then think about what to do with my life. But you should really search for a girl who loves you as you are, not the position of the queen of Sindria. And I don't think you find these girls on parties," she added with raised forefinger. Sinbad laughed then turned serious again.

"Would you mind giving me a kiss? As a good-luck charm for my travel to Kou?"

Lenka's eyes widened then she smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Have a save trip and a good outcome with the emperor, Sinbad."

He grinned cheekily at her.

"Was it too hard to give me a real kiss?"

She laughed, shook her head then turned back to the exit.

"How long were you watching us?! Mor, never adapt to the eavesdropping habit the eight generals have! Geez, even you, Ja'far! I thought you rise above something like that! Was this you idea, Hinahoho? You wanted him to marry someone, marry him! Or better, Ja'far marries him, kihihihi!"

Suddenly Sinbad was very glad that Lenka had refused to become a part of his generals or things might have become very soon very awkward.

* * *

 **Ha, another chapter done! Many skips in this one but I want to proceed with the story, there are characters I want to see again as well as introduce new OC's. Another thing I wanted to say is that Second Chance will be on break until August 23. Can't take my computer with me when going on holiday -.-. But as compensation I'll add an extra after chapter 13.**

 **Thank you for your support, for reading and following, favoriting and/or reviewing!**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	13. Chapter 13 plus omake

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 13: Making a mess is easy...

"I'm really looking forward to meeting the prince from Kou," Lenka mused as she watched the landing ships of the envoy sent by the empire. Aladdin hummed his agree.

"I hope he's nice."

"But that's certainly a huge fleet, isn't it?" she asked Yamraiha who nodded.

"An imperial prince might need such an envoy to demonstrate his social standing."

With a loud clatter the subject of her talk left his ship and stepped on Sindrian soil. Ren Hakuryuu, the fourth prince of the Kou empire walked with long, confident strides and Lenka felt Alibaba tensing next to her as the two royals exchanged a quick glance before Hakuryuu folded his hands in traditional greeting of his homeland to honor his host.

"I'm the fourth prince of the Kou empire, Ren Hakuryuu," he introduced himself with a slight bow. Sinbad smiled down and answered: "I heard about you from his majesty the emperor, I welcome you."

 _This scar is really bad,_ Orobas mumbled as the two men continued their talk. Lenka nodded then she caught sight of a familiar figure stepping from the ships. Sinbad did as well and looked past Hakuryuu at Kougyoku while asking him "Didn't I meet the person behind you?"

Ja'far yelped in surprise.

"Princess Ren Kougyoku..."

"Isn't that the princess that held an interest in Sinbad that you were talking about, Lenka, Ja'far?" Pisti asked with sparkling eyes. The petite loved romantic stories and the hint of one made her giggle with excitement.

"She chased him here!"

Ja'far grew pale with concern, Sharrkan seemed a bit awkward but interested while Masrur maintained his stoic face and Lenka scratched her temple while thinking hard what had happened in the plot; the six months she had spent learning in Sindria were way too long. Time passed like in her own world yet her body seemed not to age in this dimension. She had been hysteric when she missed her period for four months after arriving in Orobas' dungeon and worried Yamraiha to an extent where the mage scanned her on pregnancy and possible diseases or spells to find nothing. Then they had tried to find a reason why her body reacted so different and formed a lot of illogical theories until Gusion and her beginning cycle calmed the women down again. Lenka told Sinbad a short version of their discovery – minus the embarrassing details – and the man was maybe a bit too thrilled by the thought that life could be prolonged to an unbelievable extent.

But what happened here now? Didn't they accuse Sinbad of having-

The sword that Kougyoku had hidden in the folds of her dress slashed down and cut a few streaks of Sinbad's hair off.

"Damn you Sinbad!" she screamed. "I thought that you would apologize and for your country's sake I choked back the tears and yet – I cant forgive you at all!"

In a fluid motion she pulled the metal vessel out of her hair and equipped the djinn weapon.

"Fight to the death with me, Sinbad! You deserve death for the brutal act of defiling a maiden's body!"

"What did you do!?" screeched Ja'far and grabbed his king's clothes to shake him violently. The other generals showed different states of being shocked, the scale reached from Ja'far's violent outburst to Masrur's unfazed stoicism. However Lenka raced over to her enraged friend and touched her hands.

"Kougyoku! It's me, Lenka."

The princess' eyes teared up and she hugged her friend to bury her face in the blue blouse to cry while a maid rushed over as well.

"Lenkaaa!"

"Shoo, darling, I'm here."

Now she was sure that it was this particular situation and despite the crying girl in her arms she felt relieved: her being in this dimension hadn't changed the flow of the story.

"Allow me to explain the situation as it is too harsh for the princess to talk about this experience again," Ka Koubun as the faithful advisor jumped in. "This is a testimony from the princess herself, and there are other witnesses as well."

 _This man is lying to heighten his position,_ Orobas said scornful. _As a djinn of truth I can see that clearly._

 _Could you prove Sinbad's innocence?_

 _I don't like him, but I'll do if that is what you wish._

"... and found you, naked in her bed! If you still insist that nothing happened after hearing this, give us an explanation, King Sinbad!"

The eight generals plus Aladdin, Mor and Alibaba stared at the purple-haired man in shock while his face showed utter confusion and embarrassment.

"Err..."

"Damn you, Sinbad, you've dishonored the body of an imperial princess!" Kougyoku yelled from her place in Lenka's embrace. "Fight me! If you decline, I will kill myself! And if you accept I will kill you and then myself!"

 _Drama queen. Damn, I really need snacks. This is so exciting,_ Orobas whined while Kougyoku's maids started a chorus of lamentations. Lenka patted her friends back.

"Don't worry, dearest. I will still marry you."

The other started to cry again while Ja'far frowned.

"If a princess harms herself because the king of Sindria committed an obscene act..."

"What will you think will happen?" Morgiana asked with worry. A sweatdrop ran down the vizier's face as he answered: "Our opponent here is an aggressive country that would look look for any excuse to invade another country. If that happens..."

The word hung unspoken in the air even when Sinbad hastily told his version of the story then Sharrkan nodded.

"That's right. The king wasn't drunken that night."

Spartos agreed with the other man as the Heliohaptian told the crowd that they had checked if Sinbad slept in his room or not.

 _This is so exciting,_ Orobas repeated with sparkling eyes while Lenka kissed her friends temple.

"And I went to sleep like that. I did nothing to you."

"Then why was I in your room the following morning!?" Kougyoku yelled while tears of anger and embarrassment streamed down her cheeks.

"Sorry, princess, but I don't have any recollection of that."

"Then why are you naked when you woke up? Are you saying that you naturally remove your clothing when you sleep?!" Her cheeks were almost as red as her hair now while Sinbad nodded with a smug grin.

"Yeah, this happens often."

"Stop fooling around! I tell you my story then!"

Lenka continued to comfort Kougyoku while the princess recalled the night until Ka Koubun brought himself back into the conversation.

"Let's say that, in order to destroy all the evidence he made the princess faint and after that the act occurred!"

"You're the worst!" Yamraiha, Sharrkan and Pisti screamed in utter disgust while Spartos covered his mouth to hold back the urge to vomit and Ja'far simply said: "You're the worst after all."

"You should believe your king..."

" _Contractor of Focalor."_

He jumped at the deep growl then turned just to face two jaws full of white sharp teeth.

"Gusion!" yelled Lenka as the djinn rose to an height of seven meters over the harbor. The yellow eyes stared down at the man with pure abhorrence while Gusion bent her flippers which had turned to paws with a couple of dangerous looking claws. She grinned and showed the jaws that would have made a white shark hide his in shame.

" _If you did this loatheful thing to the queen of my friend Vinea I will slowly and painfully turn your intestines into acid, melt your testicles then have your brain liquify itself so it will drip out of your ears,"_ the djinn told the man with cheerful voice and disappeared with a plop. The generals, the people from Kou and the main characters stared at Lenka in shock and surprise who nodded wisely. Her second djinn would never depart from her word.

"That's Gusion for you."

Sinbad recovered at her words and defended himself.

"Honestly, do you really think that I would commit such a crime under the influence of alcohol during a diplomatic mission?"

The stare his younger generals gave him was enough of an answer, even before Ja'far said it aloud.

"We respect you from the bottom of our hearts, Sinbad, but we are completely aware of your bad drinking habits."

And then he recounted examples that made Lenka shudder with suppressed laughter while Kougyoku's jaw fell open. Her king in shining armor had turned into a nightmare drunkard.

"That's all true, but I didn't do that this time! Believe me, I beg you!" countered Sinbad whereupon his vizier gave him a sad glance.

"I can't believe you..."

"Because it happens every time," continued Masrur.

"The complaints coming from girls you molested when drunk never come to an end..." sighed Spartos and Pisti added:

"The other day you molested a very old lady!"

"To be honest, he did the same thing to me once," mused Yamraiha and Sharrkan yelped in surprise.

"Do I have to add something?" Lenka asked with a grin so her friend gave her an appalled glance. Sinbad began to shiver then slumped down.

"Why? Are you saying that our trust was only a lie?"

"Like we would believe the words of a drunkard!?" Sharrkan, Ja'far and Yamraiha yelled and pointed accusingly on him. Spartos raised his finger out of peer pressure while Pisti told Mor, Alibaba and Aladdin that Sinbad was normally a good king.

 _This is so hilarious!_ howled Orobas.

"Have you finished your poor excuses, King Sinbad?" Ka Koubun said. "You laid your hands on the princess after all. In that case you have no other choice but to marry her."

Lenka rolled her eyes.

"He is a tad annoying, isn't he?" she asked her friend before ending the hug and patted her cheek while the generals started a secret discussion about treaties, wars and their king's mistake until Sinbad screamed in anger and desperation:

"I'm out of patience! I was a fool for thinking that we could solve this matter by talking!"

He pointed on his mage.

"Yamraiha! Prove my innocence with your magic!"

* * *

Almost twenty minutes later Team Sinbad, Team Alibaba, Team Kougyoku and Lenka stared at the model of the Kou palace in which the water dolls of the king and the princess wobbled.

"This type of magic doesn't lie," Yamraiha said tensed as she stared down at the Sinbad-doll which laid in it's room and the Kougyoku-doll in the banquet hall. Ja'far was even more nervous than she was and Sharrkan prayed to every god he knew.

"What about Sinbad?" Aladdin said with big eyes. This water clairvoyance magic was extremely interesting to the young Magi.

"He is sleeping," his teacher answered with furrowed brows.

"And the princess?"

"Still in the banquet hall."

"But when I was returning to my room," Kougyoku said with quivering lower lip as her doll collapsed.

"Ah!" yelped Aladdin and Yamraiha's expression darkened even more.

"Apparently she was hit by someone."

The water doll started to float through the corridors into the Sinbad-doll's room.

"Someone carried her and brought her into King Sinbad's chamber."

"So Sinbad didn't do anything," Aladdin said relieved but Yamraiha shrieked:

"Things will probably happen here!"

Sinbad, who stood behind his mage scowled at her and Sharrkan who added as excited as she was:

"She is right. Probably he asked someone to bring the princess to him!"

The king's scowl deepened as Ja'far hurried over and covered the Magi's eyes.

"Young children shouldn't see such things!"

Masrur nodded and shielded Morgiana's to protect her innocence while Alibaba blushed and made a strange face, Pisti peeked through her fingers while squealing in excitement and Spartos answered with his voice muffled by his hand:

"But we have a duty to witness it."

 _The green of his face doesn't go well with his hair,_ Gusion said and Kougyoku grabbed Lenka's hand who giggled while staring at the magic in front of her even though she knew that-

"Noting is happening. I fasten the time a bit."

…...

"No steamy hot scene to witness," Lenka sighed a few seconds later then gave Kougyoku who scowled at her an apologetic grin.

"DID YOU SEE THAT?! I DID NOTHING!" Sinbad roared furiously. His generals bowed in front of him to apologize. Lenka chuckled at the king's bickering.

"So he really was innocent after all."

He turned to Kougyoku when hearing Lenka's words.

"Princess, as you could see, we didn't do anything to offend your honor or your body."

Kougyoku blushed and hid behind her sleeves.

"I see."

"Princess! Don't let him fool you! That suspicious magic will-"

"Take a break, will you?" Lenka snapped at Ka Koubun. "If you're not satisfied with General Yamraiha's flawless magic, so why shouldn't I ask my djinn of truth if he finds the culprit, and trust me, he already knows who did that detestable thing to Kougyoku!"

The advisor gaped at her.

"You!"

"No, I was in Sindria at that time," Lenka deadpanned then turned to Sinbad.

"King Sinbad, would you agree to the usage of my djinn?"

"Djinn as in, both your djinn or just one djinn?"

"I can manage to summon both, so why not?"

Kougyoku tugged at the travelers vest to get her attention.

"Lenka, you don't need to do that. I believe the mage. To be honest," she blushed and looked down while her eyes teared up, "I thought that something was strange, too. That morning neither my clothes nor my hair were in disarray, but I didn't understand what had happened and started to panic... and after that I was so embarrassed that I couldn't say anything."

She bowed deeply in front of Sinbad.

"I'm sorry."

"Princess! Please don't cry!"

Two of her soldiers raced towards Kougyoku and tried to comfort her while Sinbad and his generals shared a dumbstruck expression. Lenka was furious. That advisor, who had kneeled down next to his crying princess would receive his punishment for sure. Even if she was the one to blow his cover-

"Sorry, it's all Ka Koubun's fault," the two soldiers kneeling right and left to Kougyoku suddenly pointed on the man who hissed at them. Sindrian guards rushed in his direction.

"Seize the traitor that wanted to frame King Sinbad!"

"Kerfuffle!" cheered Lenka as the advisor grabbed a sword and was on the verge of attacking someone with it – until Hakuryuu hit the man's wrist who dropped the weapon in pain and surprise.

"Enough of this farce."

He stepped forward and kneeled in front of Sinbad and began a long apology.

 _Problem solved,_ she declared and gave both her djinn a mental pat. _Well done, guys._

 _I didn't do anything,_ Orobas waved the thanks aside.

 _Mentioning you was enough to turn the tables. And Gusion was really amazing._

 _Hmpf,_ the djinn answered but looked proud as well.

 _Oh! Vizier ex-assassin spat in tattoo guy's face! Can he do that? Gusion, can you turn the spat into acid?_

 _I can do many things. Shall I?_

 _Nope, I don't think Sinbad wants brain splatters on his docks, does he?_

 _Aww, just a tiny-_

 _Nope._

* * *

"That was so embarrassing," Kougyoku groaned and hid in her sleeves.

"I never thought he would do something this stupid."

"Neither did I," Lenka agreed and took a candied peach slice. The two girls sat in Kougyoku's chamber in the green Sagittarius tower and had tea-time with a selection of goodies. The room was equally gorgeous to Lenka's, except that Kougyoku had way more luggage stapled in a corner.

"But everything was solved rather peacefully, wasn't it?"

The princess hummed in agree and took a sip of her tea. Her eyes brightened.

"This is really good tea. And the sweets are delicious too. And you have been here for more than six months? How did you manage not to get fat?"

Lenka snickered.

"It was really hard, but I train every day to keep my weight and successfully avoided that my male friends got fat too."

"I received your letter. Sorry that I missed your birthday, it seemed to be a fun event."

"It certainly was. You know about the harvest festival here? Every time when the generals beat a sea beast the whole island celebrates. I've been to two maharaghan until now and I can only repeat my quote, there are no parties like Sindrian parties."

Kougyoku chuckled.

"I hope that they have another feast soon. I really want to see you dance. Ah! I nearly forgot!"

She jumped up and raced over to her luggage, opened one of the chests and threw clothes out while Lenka stared at her in confusion.

"Kougyoku?"

"A second! Or maybe two? Where is it? Ah-ha!"

With a triumphant cry the redhead held a small box up then skipped back to her friend. Her eyes glowed and she blushed as she offered Lenka the small wooden chest.

"Belated happy birthday!"

"Aww, thank you!" the blonde hugged her and gave her a peck on the cheek. Kougyoku's blush deepened but she smiled brightly.

"Open it!"

Lenka did and hugged Kougyoku again with a squeal.

"Earrings! They are great! Thank you!"

The princess's smile brightened even more.

"I help you with getting them on, they are a bit different from those you are wearing."

Lenka nodded and took the small studs out then waited until her friend had attached the turquoise pearls at her earlobes. They were heavier, but really pretty. Really pretty! She felt the urge to copy Gollum from _Lord of the Rings._

"They are partly made of gold, so they might be a metal vessel if you wear them long enough and conquer a dungeon."

"I don't know how to thank you, Kougyoku," the traveler said with big eyes and the other grinned.

"Promise me to visit me in Kou."

"I promise," Lenka cheered gleefully. They clinked their tea cups together and giggled at their childish behavior.

"This will be really funny I reckon."

"Of course it will. Say, Lenka, do you plan on having a household member?"

Lenka blinked in surprise.

"I don't know. I haven't planned anything and at the moment no friend who would be a candidate for becoming my household member. If I think about it it would be better if I don't have a household, because they will have to stay here if I return to London some day."

"Is that so? Do you really want to return to your home?" she asked with big eyes. The traveler shrugged.

"I have really no plan when or if I will ever leave this world. Let's enjoy the days we have without worrying about the future, won't we?"

Kougyoku beamed.

"That's right! Hooray for sweets and fruit!"

"If you say so."

* * *

A few days later Lenka walked together with Team Aladdin and Hakuryuu towards Sinbad's office. The king had called during a befriending session they had held together with Kougyoku, who was still on relatively bad terms with the small Magi, yet six was a good number to play games.

"I wonder why he summoned us," Morgiana asked calmly and the older girl smiled.

"I know why, but I won't tell."

"What is it, big sis?" Aladdin asked and grabbed her hand and she grinned at him.

"I'm not telling you either. It's Sinbad's honour to tell you what he wants."

The two soldiers guarding the door opened and the group entered the study. Ja'far, Yamraiha, Sharrkan and Masrur were already waiting for them with earnest yet friendly faces. Sinbad didn't bother with a long introduction.

"I've gathered you here to send you to a dungeon conquest!"

"A dungeon conquest?!" yelped Alibaba representative for the Aladdin and Mor while Lenka grinned.

"Nice."

Sinbad nodded.

"You are already powerful but I have been searching for people strong enough who can help me to conquer it."

"Dungeon conquest..." mused Morgiana.

"We haven't been on one since Amon," Alibaba added.

"So where is that dungeon?" Lenka asked, even though she knew what would come.

"It is situated in the southern sea and it still hasn't been discovered by another country. It's the sixty-first, Zagan."

Lenka frowned but Sinbad continued.

"But I fear that the people who possess a flying dungeon item will discover it soon. Especially since I want to avoid a certain organization to get possession of the metal vessel I absolutely want you to conquer it.

I would come with you, but it's impossible."

"Why?" asked Alibaba.

"If I or one of the eight generals try to get through the sacred gate of a dungeon, we will simply pass and nothing will happen. We cannot enter the dungeon."

 _Lenka, I don't want you to conquer Zagan,_ Orobas whined as Sinbad explained further.

 _Me too. I would avoid having him here,_ Gusion agreed.

 _Please decline his offer, my queen._

 _Sure thing, it would disturb the flow of the cannon if I would get into Zagan._

 _What is-_

 _Don't ask, Gusion, just don't ask if you want to keep your mental sanity._

"I understand," Alibaba said with determination. "In that case we will go to Zagan. The three of us have conquered a dungeon already, and Lenka made it through two. And we are much stronger than before."

Sinbad smiled at the young man.

"I see. Please be careful, dungeons come in different shapes."

"Different shapes?" Alibaba asked in confusion.

"No dungeon resembles another, because every djinn is an unique being," Lenka explained, "I'm sorry but I have to decline, King Sinbad. I had a conversation with my djinn, and both were against me taking part in the conquest. They dislike Zagan to the point of loathing and I don't want to lose their support. The risk of Zagan choosing me is too big."

The king, his generals and her friends stared at her in utter surprise until Aladdin spoke up.

"So you're not going, big sis?" he asked and Lenka nodded.

"It would disturb the flow of fate quite a bit if I did, sweetheart."

Harkuryuu cleared his throat.

"If that's the case then could you please let me participate in this endeavor?"

The group stared at him while the prince continued "Actually I have been searching for a Magi who was not Judar who would want to conquer a dungeon, so please, let me participate in the conquer of Zagan."

Lenka chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"I can understand why you don't want to go with Judar. He is a creep and belongs to them, isn't that so?"

Hakuryuu looked surprised then nodded with a smile.

"That's exactly why. I don't wish to rely on his power, no matter what."

 _We would only let you go with him if he had summoned Orias's dungeon,_ Orobas said.

 _Only then,_ Gusion added while Sinbad seemed to come to a resolution.

"Very well. I will let you go with them."

The prince beamed and suddenly the scar over his eye almost vanished as he bowed and thanked him overflowingly. Sinbad dismissed the younger ones but stopped Lenka from leaving.

"Is there another reason why you refused to go with them?"

She slightly tilted her head to smile secretive and raised her index finger to her lips.

"I might have a feeling that they might get attacked by a certain organization and will be saved by their teachers who have been sent by a certain king. It's just a feeling, though."

Sinbad frowned and knit his brows.

"Is that so? After all I've heard of your warnings this might be a reason to worry."

"I'd rather say it's to stay on alert, but I think you will manage to cope with this, won't you?"

Sinbad nodded.

"We've survived incidents far worse in the past."

Lenka who suddenly remembered the Magnostadt incident and the medium that was yet to happen shrugged and grinned at him.

"You know, I only have limited knowledge of the future, but I can say for sure that this world's drawing towards a great war, as in 'we are all doomed' great war. We have four Magi. One of them has already fallen into depravity and Al-Thamen are still expanding, spreading chaos and injustice everywhere. Kou is corrupted, except of a few selected who believe in another future, which means everyone of the royal family who is not Gyokuen. Meanwhile countries are trying to produce mass-destruction weapons while others discover what I call the miracle of science, even though these who is not Al-Thamen all want the same: a peaceful life in the middle of friends and family.

You are doing well already, Sinbad: you're not only using your power for Sindria and the alliance but fore those in need and suffering as well, isn't that so? Continue your path to the light, keep in touch with your friends and allies, try to negotiate with your non-Al-Thamen enemies before fighting them.

Trust me, I have more than enough history lessons from my world and knowledge of yours to prove my point well enough."

She inhaled then smiled warmly at the king.

"That is a warning, Sinbad. The other one was a plea."

He and his generals stared at her for a few seconds until Ja'far chuckled.

"I see you know how to play this game well, Lenka."

"Thank you, I had good teachers," she said and bowed slightly.

"If you would excuse me now, I think I will help Aladdin packing his bag. Have a nice day."

Sinbad nodded, his expression still unreadable. When the door fell shut he inhaled deeply then sighed.

"How's it, having a taste of your own medicine, Sin?"

He looked up at his vizier.

"I fear there is more to her words than I want it to be."

Yamraiha bit her lower lip.

"If it's like that I should give the barriers an extra checking."

"You might do that."

* * *

"I'm hanging in the air," Lenka told Aladdin while they were stuffing food in his bag. The boy looked up at her in confusion.

"Why?"

She sighed deeply and let her gaze wander through the kitchen.

"Sindria is beautiful, like a paradise but I feel like I'm doing nothing while being here. Of course, I've learned how to read and write again, improved my fighting and yet I have the feeling I've achieved nothing. It's frustrating."

Aladdin patted her arm.

"I think I understand what you mean, big sis. I want to learn more about this world and magic too. Yamraiha is a good teacher, but there is always more. Are you sure you don't want to go into the dungeon with us? I'm sure this would cheer you up."

Lenka shook her head and smiled.

"Orobas and Gusion really hate Zagan. Be careful, Aladdin."

"I will," he said and turned to hug her tightly. Sudden footsteps announced the arrival of another person and Morgiana appeared in the kitchen. She blinked in surprise when Lenka stretched out her arm and pulled her into the hug as well. Mor instantly wrapped her arms around the other two and the traveler started to hum happily.

"You know," she said after a few seconds, "you two have become family to me. I love you both as much as my siblings by blood."

Aladdin nuzzled his head into her blue blouse.

"You're my big sister, Lenka. Love you too."

"... me too."

"Aww," Lenka intensified her hug and Mor smiled and hugged back until Aladdin started to cough.

"Too tight!"

He wriggled free and the two girls squeezed each other until the blonde gasped for air.

"You win!"

"Guys? Are you here?"

With a loud rumble Alibaba popped up and looked at Aladdin for information.

"What are they doing?"

"Group hug!" Lenka cheered and dragged the other girl towards Alibaba.

"Group hug!" repeated Aladdin and hugged his male friend tightly, who yelped in surprise as the girls joined.

"Can't … breathe!"

Lenka started to laugh then stepped back.

"I wish you as much luck as you can get and come back safe!"

"I try!" the Magi chirped happily, Morgiana nodded with a smile and Alibaba grinned brightly.

"Sure!"

Lenka stretched her hand out and smiled at the others.

"Promise to never forget each other, to believe in them and care for them, wherever they are and whatever they do."

The fanalis girl nodded and placed her hand on Lenka's.

"I promise."

Alibaba sniffed and reached out.

"Promise."

"I promise! Because we are friends!" Aladdin beamed and tiptoed to lay his hand on the others. Lenka felt like she would explode with pride and joy and the corners of her mouth were hurting from her constant grin as she repeated happily "Promise."

* * *

 **Chapter 13 done! Here's the extra I promised! Have fun!**

How to befriend royals or Behind the scenes with Lenka

Aladdin stared at Kougyoku. Kougyoku glared at Aladdin, Alibaba looked confused at them while Hakuryuu scanned every move he made and Morgiana's face showed how nervous she was with this situation. Lenka sighed then waved her hand between the two brawlers.

"Time out you two. I don't want you to destroy the gardens. Bury your feud for Solomon's sake!"

They started to pout and caused her to sigh again.

"Stop giving the other the blame for what happened back in Balbadd. From my point of view it's Judar you have to blame so sit down and try to appreciate my efforts to play mediator! You others, too."

She placed Aladdin between Mor and Alibaba who had Hakuryuu and Kougyoku to his right then sat down between the two girls.

"Let's play a game to befriend each other. I'm sure we'll spend more that enough time together and your constant fighting will be a nuisance, won't it?"

Aladdin's eyes started to sparkle.

"Do you know any games, big sis?"

"Uhm..."

Lenka frowned. She knew drinking games, even more drinking games, role-playing and video games, a combination that told everyone about her strange preferences but not really suitable for this group. Hooray for nerds! Hide and seek and I spy with my little eye would be difficult with Mor who was superior as a fanalis and she really couldn't introduce them to poker, could she?

"Why don't we give each other riddles to solve? That's funny and you learn something. If you know the solution, say it and you'll be the next to give a riddle. And if you can't imagine one ask someone a question, like truth or dare, jut without dare. No perverted or political questions, Aladdin, Alibaba, Hakuryuu, Kougyoku."

"Aw, why not?" asked the Magi with big eyes causing the others to blush.

"Because I said so. I'll start. What walks on four legs in the morning, two at midday and three in the evening?"

The good old riddle the sphinx asked Odysseus would never be ancient. The kids seemed to concentrate and everyone was silent for a few minutes, until Morgiana calmly answered:

"A human during the day of his life."

"That's right! It's your turn, Mor!" Lenka grinned while the others made sounds of agree. The girl cracked a smile.

"I leave my house everyday yet I stay at home. What am I?"

"A snail," Hakuryuu answered and Mor nodded. The prince smiled happily then asked:

"Everybody has it and no one can loose it."

The blonde blinked surprised. _Teen Wolf_ references? Okay... everything was possible, they could have invented the riddle on their own.

"The shadow," Alibaba said while she replied "The self". Hakuryuu smiled a bit confused.

"I thought shadow was right but self sounds okay too."

"Alibaba, you ask," Lenka said and the dungeon capturer grinned.

"Mine's a bit easy, but what get's wetter the more it dries?"

"A towel."

Kougyoku was smiling now and the traveler felt proud. Already ten minutes in which the princess and the small Magi hadn't tried to kill each other, success!

"I'm strong and mighty, make happy, create glory, fight for the good, defeat the hate and am as boundless as it is. Who am I?"

"I's love!" Aladdin cried after a few minutes and Lenka was surprised. The boy was clever. He grinned brightly and raised his arms.

"I've got a question for everyone! Will you go to the kitchen with me to get some food?"

She started to laugh, shook her head then stood up.

"Typically Aladdin, your stomach must be a bottom-less pit."

Kougyoku grabbed her hand to get pulled up then looked at the Magi who had apparently risen in her list of people that were not as bad as she had thought.

"I wouldn't say something against some refreshing fruit, the air in Sindria is really hot."

Mor, Alibaba and Hakuryuu rose to their feet as well. The black-haired prince bowed in front of them.

"I had fun, please let me participate more often."

"What are you saying, you're coming with us, the food they have is incredibly good!" Alibaba grinned and patted his shoulder, whereupon a smile appeared in the prince's face. Lenka grinned then noticed that Sinbad and Ja'far were watching them from a balcony. She waved and gave them a thumbs up. This guys would be friends soon.

* * *

 **I'm back after almost two weeks without internet and ready to continue the story! *laughs devilishly* I'm going to have so much fun! *Lenka sweat-drops and hides behind the curtain***

 **Thank you for the support, the nice reviews and confetti-rain for those who favorited and followed! You reading _Second Chance_ is my greatest joy!**

 **Yours, back in action,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes.**

 **And there is a reason why I chose this rating.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 14 Meeting Orias

A few days after the departure of Team Aladdin plus Hakuryuu Lenka walked with Kougyoku through the gardens of the palace, chatting happily with the princess. They had to kill time waiting for Yamraiha's report if the kids were safe and both of them were not really in the mood for a sparring match.

"And after he said that I threw one of his peaches at him," Kougyoku said proudly. "Served him right."

Lenka chuckled and shook her head.

"Judar is really hopeless. You're not an old hag, you're young and pretty. I think he is aware of that but too clumsy to tell you he likes you."

"As if," the princess answered with a feminine snort. "He is-"

She yelped in surprise and fear as the ground shook violently, the magic shield over the island that was normally invisible appeared, it had a giant hole in the center and a lone figure floated down to earth. A column of black Rukh flew past Lenka, their chirping shrill and somehow violent.

"Speak of the devil," she growled then glanced at Kougyoku who paled.

"J-Judar?" she yelped and the blonde nodded.

"Let's go to the garden in the middle of palace, he will land there."

Kougyoku nodded and the girls plus the always present advisor plus the soldiers hurried over to where the black Magi was. After a few meters – Kougyoku wasn't really fast in her six kimonos – they herd a loud crash causing Lenka to jolt and look at the other who nodded again and waved with a sleeve.

"Go!"

Lenka smiled and dashed through a part of the palace to get to the plaza. She stopped when she saw the multitude of soldiers pointing their weapons on Judar who was completely immersed in his conversation with Sinbad. The blonde looked left and right then sneaked over to the Magi's blind spot.

 _What are you going to do, Lenka?_ Orobas asked worried. _His Rukh are all black by now, and it seems he's here for chaos._

 _I don't know,_ she answered while nervously chewing on her lip. Ja'far had noticed her and shot a warning glance over the square and she nodded. Stay where you are, don't make an unnecessary move.

 _He is here to tell Sinbad that Kou will go to war against them. I can't do anything right now, just wait what he will do._

"Isn't it strange that there exists another Magi in this world?" Judar asked loud and Lenka frowned.

 _I know why he is here, but... well. Just let me hear what he says, okay?_

"There were never more than three Magi in the past," he continued after a few seconds. "History proves that there were three Magi who chose kings and founded countries. They have built this world! No difference from today, right?"

Judar smiled as Sinbad remained silent and pointed on himself.

"First there is me. Then the old hag from Reim. And the last is that guy that tramps around the world to raise a dungeon here and there then disappears."

 _Scheherazade,_ thought Lenka. _Yunan._

"So there are three already. If a new one appears one among us three has died. But..." he furrowed his brows, "I don't hear of such things."

 _Because they haven't died. Yet._

"So I wonder who this guy is. The first fourth Magi to appear in history, Aladdin!"

 _That's Prince Aladdin for you,_ Gusion mumbled.

"Plus he possesses a mysterious power that even I didn't know."

 _Solomon's wisdom?_ the djinn asked and Lenka nodded.

 _I was told that I obtained it as well, but I can't seem to trigger it._

 _Rukh turn white when you touch them,_ Orobas said.

 _I thought that was your purifying magic._

 _I thought that at fist too,_ he frowned, _but the output is on a different scale. It changed your body to adapt to the Rukh and this process continues. It might turn you into a djinn or something entirely different. Certainly not a Magi, because they don't have to ask the Rukh all the time for more power, it simply flows to them._

 _Can't we agree on that I'm Solomon's warrior and the guardian of the Magi?_ replied Lenka and flinched as Sinbad bellowed:

"You belong to that organization! Have you forgotten what you did to us back then in Partevia?"

 _I wonder what they did to them? Apparently something very bad._

From her place behind the Magi Lenka could only see Sinbad and Ja'far but the sudden confusion and shock in their faces told her that Judar has started his 'tears and victim'-show and sighed.

 _I still don't know what I should do now or what I should do if he detects me._

 _What will Aladdin and his friends do in the future?_ Orobas asked.

 _He will go to Magnostadt, Alibaba to Reim and Mor to the Great Rift to live with Yunan, Kougyoku and Hakuryuu back to their empire._

 _Magnostadt? Isn't that the magician's country?_

Lenka nodded.

I _can't go there, I'm no mage. That leaves Reim, the Rift and Kou. I don't think I should go to Kou yet because that will seem to the others as if I would have spied on them because I spent so much time with Kougyoku._

 _Sinbad would think that for sure. I don't like him, even though you made up,_ the djinn mused. Gusion continued their discussion.

 _That leaves Reim and the Rift. Who needs your help more?_

Who needed her help more? That was the question. Lenka turned and listened to what Judar was saying.

"Lately I've noticed that someone as incredibly strong as you would be more fun to kill than anyone else!"

 _Okay, that is indeed a mad statement,_ Gusion said and Lenka silently agreed. He looked so happy and at the same time so lunatic as he bragged about the Kou empire's dungeon capturers. Suddenly someone tugged at her vest and Kougyoku appeared at her left side.

"Sorry that it took me so long to get here," she whispered and turned to the Magi. "Did I miss something?"

"He threatened with war."

The princess's eyes widened in shock and Lenka waved with a hand at the man.

"He said-"

"The Kou empire will destroy Sindria!"

"That's what he said."

Kougyoku swallowed and stepped forward.

"What do you mean, Judar?"

 _Holy Solomon is she insane?_ Orobas yelped as the Magi turned around to look at her.

"Kougyoku," he said in surprise then grinned. The palace guards scowled at the princess's followers and Lenka glared back at them.

"It's just like you heard and that's why you don't have to stay here. Probably you've run away after that defeat in Balbadd..."

She blushed and looked down in embarrassment. Lenka gritted her teeth. He didn't seem to have noticed her yet. Should she stay where she was or should she go to her friend's side?

"Come back to Kou and I will make you a general," he offered with a friendly smile. "You wanted to fight for your country, right?"

Kougyoku turned her head to glance at Sinbad who looked back sternly, then to Judar. She was torn apart between the man she loved and the one who made her into the dungeon capturer she was now. Lenka inhaled and went to her friend in need.

"That's enough, peach boy. Don't terrorize Kougyoku. She is old enough to decide what's best for her."

His eyes widened before he grinned wide.

"It's the booby one! Haven't seen you since Balbadd! What are you doing here?"

Apparently he wasn't seeing her as enemy at the moment.

"I was invited to holiday here, it's very nice. They have good food and parties. It would be a waste to go to war with Sindria."

He shrugged.

"I never said it wasn't nice, but – wait, are you trying to change my mind? Will you fight for Sindria?"

Lenka tilted her head.

"I just said it would be a waste. That's my personal opinion on this matter. And no, I will neither fight for or with Kou or Sindria. There are other countries and Magi as well."

"Is that so?" he answered while slightly squinting his eyes. Then they widened again and he quickly walked up to her, grabbed her right arm with the silvery protector, flipped against it then pouted.

"You've got another dungeon of that guy. You said you weren't his king candidate."

Lenka herd Sinbad and Kougyoku shifting behind her yet she didn't move away from the Magi.

"I didn't know it was his. It was blocking our path and I conquered it. Simple story, isn't it?"

Judar made a whining sound that startled her.

"Why won't you join me? You are as promising as Sinbad was. You could be great, even greater than him if you'd join me."

He was completely unaware of the effect his pleading puppy eyes had on her, was he? She smiled warmly at him.

"I'm already great, you know? Double dungeon capturer isn't something everyone can achieve."

Suddenly he grinned mischievously.

"You can have a third if you come with me now. I've already raised one."

Lenka hummed and slightly shook her head.

"Which one is it? I don't go into every dungeon on my way, peaches."

"It's the fifty-ninth dungeon, Orias," Judar said with a smirk.

He got her and he knew that. There wasn't another way how she could describe the look in his crimson eyes as he grinned at her. A hungry lion would probably look the same. Strangely his expression was very similar to Sinbad's smug grin when he had managed to get what her wanted.

"So what do you say, boobies?"

Lenka bit on her lower lip and touched the necklace through the flying scarf.

 _Guys?_

 _It's my brother. Like I said in Balbadd, that would be the only occasion ever when I'd let you go with him._

… _do what you want. You're queen._

"But if you agree you will be my king vessel," Judar said and crossed his hands behind his head. "Quite interesting, isn't it?"

"Lenka," said Sinbad and took a step forward. She gave him an apologetic smile.

"That's the only one out of the seventy-two djinn I must absolutely obtain, whatever it takes to do it. Under a different condition," she told Judar who had started to grin again. "A favour for another. We agree that I became a king candidate of yours, but not your king vessel. In exchange for that I can do you a favour, as long as I don't have to join the organization or have to battle a person, dungeon capturer, Magi, country or empire. It's only one, not one for every dungeon you drag me to," she said with raised finger. "Only one."

"You meanie. I can ask you nothing to do for me!" he complained and crossed his arms with a pout. Lenka sighed, shook her head and smiled.

"I'm sure you will find something. Now, where is this dungeon?"

Judar grinned mischievously, wrapped his arm around her waist and waved with his wand.

"Let's go!"

* * *

The tower glistened silvery-white and faintly remembered her of a Greek temple. The huge door shone with the golden light of danger, death an uncounted treasure. Judar landed directly in front of it and smirked at Lenka.

"You can let go of me now."

She frowned and took her hands from his shoulders and Judar started to float in the air.

"Ladies first," he chuckled and she had to shoot him a glare.

"Why, thank you, peach boy."

She inhaled then stepped through the gate. The sudden brightness caused her to close her eyes for a second and when she opened them again she was a third time in the space between a dungeon and the world she had left a second before. Another blink and everything was dark again. Her feet touched firm ground. Lenka stayed where she was to adapt her eyes to the new lighting conditions. She was in a humongous room, even bigger than the sea creature pool in Gusion's, completely different than the other dungeons she conquered until now. The floor was tiled and a chandelier spent dim light. A shudder crept over her back; there was no exit. She turned in every direction, only darkness. And there was a whisper.

 _She was standing next to the hole in which the coffin of her mother would be lifted. The tears had stopped running hours ago yet her eyes were still red and puffy. An upcoming breeze played with her hair and the bangs and the hem of her black dress. When she felt someone tug at it she looked down and into Valerie's huge gray eyes, so similar to hers and her mothers._

" _Mary, where is Momma?"_

 _Gone. She is gone._

" _She went to heaven. God wanted to make her into an angel."_

 _Valerie started to sob._

" _I want to go to Momma."_

 _Her heart felt like it would break again when she kneeled down to hug her sister._

" _Me too."_

She shook her head and slapped her cheeks. That was one of the memories she had buried deep down in her heart. What kind was this dungeon? And where was her companion?

"Judar?"

Lenka yelped in surprise as a warm body landed on her and activated her weapon equip.

"Hey, don't you dare stabbing me," Judar said from his place on her back then loosened his grip and ambled through the room.

"Where's the exit? What a stupid dungeon."

Lenka shrugged and perked up her ears. There was still a whispering but now it seemed a bit louder than before. It seemed somehow familiar in a way that made her nauseous.

"Hey."

She flinched as the Magi's face appeared a few inches away from her own.

"Geez, don't startle me like that. What is it?"

"What are you spacing out for? Are you scared?" he asked with a strange glint in his eyes. Lenka hesitated and slightly tilted her head. The whispering was another notch louder than before.

"Maybe. Can you hear that?"

He blinked, shook his head and stepped back.

"No. We have to find the exit. Let's look over there!"

Lenka nodded and wanted to answer but looked past Judar at the person standing at the edge of the circle of light the chandelier made.

 _Marlene-Karen. Come here._

"No."

Judar made a questioning sound and turned back to Lenka. Her face paled under the light tan she got after seven months in Sindria and her hands had started to tremble. Her eyes were glassy and she saw straight through him.

"No. You can't be here."

 _I said come here._

Her breath went faster and she took a step back.

"No. No. I won't obey you any longer. You can't be here."

 _I said come here, bitch._

He looked at the place she was staring at in confusion. What was she seeing that made her shaking like a leaf? Lenka inhaled and closed her eyes.

"This is an illusion. An illusion. Just an illusion. Stop shivering. He's not here. It's an illusion."

 _Mary._

Her sister's voice caused her to open her eyes again and she teared up.

"Valerie. Val. No, you can't be here."

Her clothes were ragged, bruises covered her body, her face and she wore a black collar, a dog's collar.

 _Mary. It hurts. It hurts so much._

Lenka fell on her knees when her vision blurred, her nails scratched over the floor.

"Val. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

 _Why did you leave me alone!_

"I had to. I'm sorry. Val, I'm sorry."

 _Marlee. Why did you abandon us?_

Henry, her half-brother, the cute little boy she partly raised like a mother. Golden hair like his sisters but blue eyes like the sky. Now those blue orbs had lost their wit and curiosity, turned lifeless, broken. His collar was brown, his face smeared with blood.

"Henry. Oh, Henry. I'm sorry."

 _I don't want any more! Tell him to stop!_

 _Tell him to stop!_ the illusion of her sister cried and Lenka covered her ears and sobbed.

"I can't. I can't. He won't listen."

 _Sister._

Lenka looked up and stared at the male version of herself. Her twin. Jonathan. He was dead. He had never been alive.

 _Why did you leave me?_

"You left me!" she yelled at the figure. "You left me with your responsibility! In that house! Where everyone told me that it would have been better if I had died that day!"

 _Marlene-Karen. You should obey your father. Come here._

Her collar. He held it out. A steel chain was attached to it. It was red.

Lenka threw her head back and screamed. Judar gaped at his companion in surprise as a chirping stream of black Rukh rushed towards her, even a few that were coming from him flew into the mass. They were caressing her, wrapping around her body like a blanket, replacing her own pure Rukh with darkness.

"No way," he asked and his eyes glinted. "Are you falling?"

Are you falling?

Are you falling?

Are you falling?

Are you falling?

Are you falling?

 **Are you falling?**

 **Never surrender. Oaths once give should never be broken. Choose your fate yourself instead of letting someone else choose.**

"No," she growled and stood up while wiping the tears away. "I won't fall," she snarled and a burst of white light repelled the black Rukh. Judar gasped and squinted his eyes until the glowing birds disappeared again. Lenka stretched her hand out to him.

"Are you alright, peaches?"

"That was one hell of a freakshow, boobies."

"I couldn't help myself," she said with a shrug and he noticed that her gaze was lively again. And felt a strange relief at this sight. He narrowed his eyes as the dungeon slurred and changed.

"We got an exit now."

Lenka grinned.

"Ready for action?"

"You bet," he chuckled and floated up again as the traveler opened the huge wooden door that had appeared in the darkness. It was connected to an enlightened marble hallway with a blue carpet and huge windows through which they could see the starry sky.

"Well, that's pretty."

Judar snorted.

"This is an useless dungeon. There are no monsters."

"I'm actually glad that there are none, seeing those illusions was quite a hassle. I nearly fell into depravity, didn't I?"

"You know," Judar said and flew over her head so that she had to look up to see his face. "If you did I would have made you my king vessel, no matter what you said at the stupid king's palace."

"I'm glad I did not," Lenka smiled and went around a corner. "Besides Lord Solomon surely would not want me to fall. That would destroy his plans and I'm not sure if he'd ever let me back home again after that. Oh, a crossroad."

They had stepped into a small hall where the way split up into different ones and in front of each was another illusion. Lenka stopped and pointed on the one next to the hall where thy had come from.

"That's Sindria."

Judar landed in front of one that showed a sea of black roofs with red decorations.

"That's Kou. I changed my mind, this dungeon is not useless but strange. What is this? A cliff?"

"Probably the Great Rift," she answered without looking. "A coliseum... Reim. Balbadd. Oh my god."

The Magi ambled next to her and stared at the illusion in the last corridor.

"A bridge over a river? Are those boats? That city looks strange."

"The Tower Bridge," Lenka aspirated while her eyes teared up again. The scenery was so familiar that her body ached to get back home. "That's London."

Could this dungeon really bring her back home? Probably not because she had to conquer it first but seeing this sight was enough to make her homesick.

"I want to go back there."

Judar shrugged.

"So we take this way then."

The blonde shook her head.

"This way won't bring me back home. Only if I conquer the dungeon and fulfill my mission I can return."

He shrugged again. What a strange girl. Strange dungeon. If you wanted something and had the power, you were simply doing as you pleased. That was the way he acted, but if she was sure about this...

"I don't mind. What about the other? Back to the stupid king's place?"

"I assume he won't want me back after I went with you, peaches."

"Then Kou," he said and grinned wide. "Kouen would surely love to talk with you as you are another triple dungeon capturer."

"If I go there I will have problems with Sinbad too," she said and remembered the discussion she had had with Gusion and Orobas.

"This leaves Reim and the Rift."

The Magi wrinkled his nose.

"You have another portal."

"Balbadd is part of Kou, isn't it?"

"That's true," he agreed and blew against the illusionary scenery that started to ripple like water when the wind caressed it's surface. "So where to?"

Lenka inhaled and closed her eyes.

 _Dear Lord Solomon, thank you for your help before, but now would be the perfect opportunity to tell me where I should go._

No answer for a second then another then Judar poked her cheek.

"You can't fall asleep yet, boobies."

"I was thinking," she said and stepped aside if he came on the idea to grope her again and nibbled at her lower lip. Who needed her more?

"Reim," she decided and the Magi frowned. She should go to Kou, Kou was way better! Kou was the place where he was!

"Why Reim? The old hag lives there."

He still followed her through the illusion as she answered "They need me."

"Do they?"

Lenka stopped and glared at him.

"See, I don't know who needs me and who not at the moment but I know one thing," she pointed at the door with the eight-pointed star, "this was the right way to go."

* * *

Judar was unnaturally calm as they walked through the necropolis to the treasure room, so silent that she looked up every few seconds to check if he was still following her. Apparently he was lost in thought, even when Lenka opened the room and touched a stone shield that had the magic seal. The heaps of gold and jewels turned from gray to gold as the djinn emerged and the traveler gasped in surprise. Orias looked exactly like Orobas except that his chains and eyes were silver and the stole was not on fire but turned into the color of the night sky. He bowed slightly as he beheld the Magi and her.

"My greetings, conqueror. I am the fifty-ninth djinn, Orias, a being of dignity and truth and you have proven yourself worth of my fellowship."

Judar snorted.

"Your dungeon was a waste of time. There were no monsters."

She had a strong feeling of déjà vu as Orias slightly tilted his head and grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Lord Magi, but I wasn't able to finish my dungeon when you entered it."

She burst out laughing and shook her head when the other ones stared at her.

"You are so like your brother, except that the monsters in his died. Nice to meet you, Orias."

When he smiled his freckles danced over his cheeks.

"Nice to serve you, my queen. Let me pack for you."

He waved a hand with long blue nails and the treasure disappeared in a small black hole.

"You will be able to get them out of the space when you train my equip for a few days," he explained. "I control space as well as illusions."

"Space? Similar to Koumei's Dantalion," Judar mused and Orias paled.

"D-Dantalion is out there? Oh, oh Solomon, don't let us meet soon."

Lenka grinned at the djinn.

"I bet there is an interesting story behind this statement."

"Rather an embarrassing and painful one," he said and blushed. "I will close the dungeon now and teleport you back. It was a pleasure."

While the dungeon disappeared Lenka felt a warm hum in the biceps jewelry and the presence of Orias who greeted his overjoyed twin. She smiled and stretched out on the magical tunnel's floor then grinned at Judar.

"I guess you are extremely bored by now."

"You bet," he answered and flopped down next to her. "This was the first boring dungeon in history."

"And you raised it," she giggled. The Magi made a face as if he had bitten on something sour.

"I kill you if you tell anyone."

She patted his elbow as he had crossed his arms behind his head again.

"Don't worry, peaches. I tell them it was so mentally straining and utterly terrifying that I can't talk about it without breaking down screaming and begging for my life."

Judar snickered.

"That would be the best."

Then his expression changed and he sat up to get a better look of her.

"You haven't answered my question that I asked back in Balbadd."

Lenka blinked surprised and rose as well.

"I'm sorry, but seven months are a long time and I'm afraid I forgot the question."

"Remember that time when we were at the palace and I had nailed the stupid king against the wall and had that black djinn?"

She hummed.

"You were surprised that I dodged that freezing attack."

Judar snorted.

"As if. I knew you would dodge."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"He said that he kissed you."

Lenka was surprised. That was his problem? Wait, when in the cannon had Judar shown behavior normal for a teenage boy? What was happening to him? Was he ill? Charmed? A bug that caused OOC-ness? Next Sinbad would stop drinking and flirting and Sharrkan would propose to Yamraiha who would accept and then they would have little magic swordsmen together! Then she realized that he was waiting for her answer and shrugged.

"He did. Wasn't that bad but the feeling I got was bad so I told him he was not my type."

She was even more surprised as the tension disappeared from his body.

"I see," he said and changed his sitting position. "Now you have answered my question."

She chuckled and shook her head, even though she wondered what the hell was wrong with him?!

"You wanted to know what I thought about Sinbad's kissing? Why that?"

Judar didn't answer immediately and when he did he sounded wary of himself.

"It bugged me."

Lenka shrugged and wiggled with her toes.

"It's okay to be curious. You know, Sinbad is the high king of the -"

"Can I kiss you?"

She blinked. Did he really ask that? A bug, certainly a bug. She should help Yamraiha with the wedding preparations. A ceremony at the beach and pearls on her veil would be perfect.

"Come again? I had a Rukh chirping near my ear so-"

The Magi leaned over and pressed his lips on hers. Lenka was really and utterly surprised from his action before her brain shut down and her instinct took over. With a slight purr she wrapped her hands around his neck to pull him closer and deepened the kiss. Judar's fingers started to tangle in her hair then ran down her spine causing her to moan in pleasure. God, it's been more than seven months since she had kissed the last time. How she had missed that feeling of a man's lips on hers, hands that were pulling her flush against another body...

She opened her mouth and licked over his lips then invaded his as he opened in surprise. Judar shuddered as their tongues started a heated dance and her fingers dug in his back to pull him even closer until not even a sheet of paper would fit between them and her only thoughts were 'yes', 'more' and 'mhmm'. Lenka couldn't say how much time had passed until he pulled back with a gasp for air and collapsed on her lap.

"Crap, I did it again," she sighed and started to play with his hair while the Magi recovered from his almost liquid state of brain-capacity overload.

* * *

 _So how do we clean this mess up?_ Orobas asked Lenka who floated over the island of Sindria. She tried to bite her lower lip and immediately regretted it as they were still red and swollen from-

 _Uwah, no pictures, I'm already scarred because you hadn't the time to put the vessels off,_ Orobas complained and she jolted.

 _Sorry._

Lenka decided to fly through the hole and land on the plaza where soldiers tried to clean and repair the damage Judar had done to the palace. She was surprised to see Ja'far watching over the progress then frowned. He was probably here to wait for her. And really, as soon as she came in sight he turned towards her then hurried over when she landed.

"Please accompany me to Sin's office, he wants to know what happened."

Lenka nodded and tried to swallow the lump in her throat as she followed the vizier to King Sinbad's office. The man stood up as soon as she entered.

"You are back. Did he force you to something you didn't want?" he asked with furrowed brows. She shook her head before noticing Spartos and Drakon were in the room as well.

"He was civil, even helpful."

Even though he had raised the level of sexual frustration, but never mind. Nothing Sinbad needed to know.

"You were only away for two hours. It's a bit past noon now. Did you conquer the dungeon?"

She nodded again.

"Orias, twin of my Orobas. I had to go. They are more powerful now that they are together."

Sinbad sat down and sighed before looking at her again.

"You created quite the mess, Lenka."

"I know I did and that I have to leave your island after I misused your trust."

He frowned.

"You haven't misused it and you don't have to leave Sindria."

She shook her head.

"I have to leave. I am useless here, Sindria is too peaceful. I am a warrior who guards and protects. I have to ask a favour, King Sinbad."

Sinbad folded his hands.

"What is it?"

 _Oh crap, he's pissed,_ Orobas murmured.

"I want to go to Reim. My _magoi_ -manipulation is still bad and Scheherazade is weak. She will need my aid."

"You want me to write a letter for the Yambala chief Shambal?" he asked slowly and Lenka nodded.

"That would be great. I feel that you want to create a pact with Reim and I think I can assist in that endeavour when I talk to the highest priestess."

Sinbad exchanged a glance with Ja'far then nodded.

"Fine. I will write your letter and you'll help me in this matter. There's a ship that will leave for Aktia in three hours. I arrange something for you. Is that okay?"

Lenka sighed and nodded. It felt like she was being scolded by a teacher.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me, Sinbad."

"Farewell, Lenka."

* * *

 **Chapter 14! The whole chapter was a single mind-fuck to write, especially the dungeon conquest. Heavily inspired by Hakuryuu's trip through Belial. Well, there is a reason for the rating after all. *runs away while Lenka tries to get a hit with a baseball bat***

 **So the story will switch locations to the Reim empire! New faces, new possibilities, new adventures!**

 **Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, favoriting and/or following!**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	15. Chapter 15 plus omake

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 15 Meeting Miran

The sea-sickness was back again and Lenka felt miserable, but not only because of that. The parting from the generals and Kougyoku made her stomach churn guiltily. The princess had been so sad but after she had assured her that she would definitely visit her in Kou she had calmed down.

"Thank you for averting Judar's focus from me. I couldn't say anything to defend myself," she had said and Lenka had hugged her.

"No big deal, darling. He returned to Balbadd as soon as we had finished that dungeon."

His face had been flushed red when he came to his senses and realized he had rested on the blonde's lap and disappeared in a vortex of black Rukh before she had the time to tell him she was sorry but that was something she wouldn't tell her friend.

"Is that so? I thought he would have brought you back to the island or near it. What happened?"

Under Kougyoku's intense stare she had to tell her everything that had happened in the dungeon Orias, every single embarrassing detail. The redhead squealed and blushed but her eyes sparkled at the same time.

"He really kissed you? I'd never expected that!"

Lenka had groaned and hid her face in her hands.

"Me neither. Can you keep quiet about that?"

The other had smirked devilishly.

"Lenka, dearest, you gave me perfect blackmailing material. You can't expect me not to use this on our cute Judar. The next time he is mean to me he will suffer. Greatly."

 _That girl is dangerous,_ mumbled Orobas and she agreed silently while the sea wind tugged at her bangs. Ren Kougyoku was an dangerous and clever yet sweet and innocent individual, the worst combination ever.

The generals had been quite depressed of her departure as well. Pisti had teared up but helped her with the packing, Spartos had gathered all of his courage and said her he would miss the sparring, Drakon and Hinahoho wished her well and Ja'far told her that she had been the best assistant he had had in awhile and promised to tell Aladdin, Mor and Alibaba of the reasons of her sudden leave and hand them the hastily scribbled letter over. That letter was another reason of her guilt. It would have been best to wait for her extended family to come back first and tell them good bye then but Sinbad had wanted her to leave as early as possible so the only way to tell them what happened was a letter. The content was really short:

 _Dear Aladdin, Mor, Alibaba;_

 _I'm sorry that I won't be here when you come back but I had to make a decision. While you were in Zagan Judar appeared, declared war with Sindria and took me into another dungeon. It was Orias, the twin of Orobas who I already possess and thus the only dungeon for which I'd ever go with him. After that I decided to leave for Reim to lessen the chance that Sinbad will suspect me for a spy again and to train my_ magoi _-manipulation at the coliseum._

 _Aladdin, to what decision you come, I will support you. It's your life and your way and I'm sure you chose it wisely._

 _Mor, Alibaba, the same counts for you. You are going to be fine adults soon who can choose their way of living on their own._

 _You are stronger than you think and will become even better in no time._

 _If you have the time please visit me in Reim, but I might travel to Kou in a few months. We will see each other in a year's time in Magnostadt for sure._

 _Love, Lenka._

She sighed and looked at the horizon to calm her nausea. She was on this boat, the _Anneliese,_ since five boring days now where the only thing she could do was to roast the southern sea creatures that would occasionally attack but the captain, a middle-aged man with an impressive gray mustache and a face that looked like a dried raisin when he smiled, had told her that they would reach the port of the Aktia kingdom at the evening. A good wind from the south sped the ship up and sometimes Lenka would use Gusion's power to manipulate the current to travel even faster. Orias was almost as easy to manage as his brother; his weapon was a long whip of midnighty blue, and yesterday she was able to open the hole in space where her treasure was stored and immediately stuffed her other belongings in as well. She was really curious how the inside of the storage looked like but it would be a really bad idea to stick her head through the gate without knowing what was on the other side.

Lenka yawned and stretched her arms. Hopefully a sea beast would attack soon or the boredom would kill her for sure. A chirping Rukh fluttered past her nose and then circled over the deck. That was strange and it got even stranger when she felt two large water bubbles move upwards from the depths of the ocean.

"What's up with you guys?" she asked and another Rukh landed on her outstretched finger.

"Who are you talking to, Miss?" a voice said and Lenka turned to look at a boy floating in a water sphere a few meters over sea level. He wore a pelt-skirt and had triangular paint on his face and skinny chest. One side of his head was shaved while the other was tied in a ponytail and he had a hook instead of his right hand. Lenka beamed at him.

"You are pirates! Finally a bit of action!"

The boy, Olba if she remembered correctly, yelped surprised as she raised her arm with the protector and the water from his bubble flew towards her.

"Attack!" he yelled furiously and two ships in water bubbles rose from the sea while pirates climbed aboard. Lenka made a quick pirouette and the ocean turned into a hydra: tentacles of water picked the surprised and screaming corsairs up and held them twenty meters away from the ship. She laughed when she saw Olba's angry face.

"The sea is the place of the one who governs the liquid, the hard and the gas! Dwell in my body, _Gusion!_ "

Her hair turned into the color of the emerald green sea while a crystalline corset covered her upper body that turned into a fluid skirt with two slits at her waist and into gas at her knees. Jackal ears and whiskers grew and Lenka wriggled with her clawed fingers then closed them around a sword-lance similar to Hakuryuu's. A thin skin of water covered the ship and the sailors before the boat slowly rose to the sky.

"What are you?" screamed Olba and pointed his weapon on her. The traveler chuckled.

"I am a dungeon capturer, boy. Now leave the ship or I will turn the fluid that captured your mates into sulfuric acid until you give me a good fight."

His gaze switched between his men and her wide grin that showed many white sharp teeth.

"I start the countdown. Five. Four. Three. Two."

"Retreat!" he screamed then scowled at her before jumping of the rail.

"Hey, come on, I want a fight!" she yelled and shot a hail of ice at the enemy ships but the water bubble protected them.

" _Homing spear!"_ The sea obeyed her command and a multitude of water jets attacked the boats that started to sink in the water.

"That's right! Sod off you midgets!"

Lenka laughed and released the captives who fell into the water then turned to the captain of the _Anneliese_.

"I speed us up for a bit, okay?"

He nodded gladly and inspected the thin membrane over his mustache.

"This is quite convenient, Miss Lenka. Thank you for protecting our lives and the cargo."

"It's no big deal," she waved his thanks aside and the boat rushed forwards. The pirate boats disappeared in the ocean again and a few seconds later the dungeon capturer could see the port of Aktia. She released the membrane with a sigh and then the equip.

 _Thanks, Gusion. You are very handy._

 _It's no big deal,_ the djinn imitated her and Lenka laughed until a shadow fell on her. She looked up and saw three ships with the flag of the Aktia kingdom.

"This is the naval fleet of the Aktia kingdom! Your ship is under our protection now!" yelled a soldier down and she changed a quick glance with the captain before yelling back.

"Guys, you are too late, I had to do the work all alone! I demand at least a biscuit for retribution!"

* * *

It was afternoon when Lenka left the hotel where she had rent a room to search for a map store like she did in Qishan and to buy food for her travel to the Reim Capital. Her flying scarf was wrapped around her neck, covering the necklace while she wore the other metal vessels openly plus the unbreakable sword and a dagger in the boots she had bought back in Sindria. The city had been glamorous once but now the buildings were shabby and the inhabitants wore rags and had a hopeless expression. Lenka noticed that there was a lack of children running around and reckoned that they were taken by the pirates and their creepy booby leader.

 _This town is boring. Let's leave tomorrow,_ Orobas complained when she finally found a map store and bought one that showed the way to the capital Remano.

 _I have to admit that I agree with him,_ said Gusion. _I don't like this town._

 _I get it, guys, we will leave tomorrow morning. I have to buy quite a lot of food because I don't want to travel by ship again but rather with the flying scarf. I think Alibaba will take a ship, but either way I should ask at the docks to where and when the ships will leave._

 _That is a good plan, my queen, er, Lenka,_ Orias who wasn't that familiar with her yet agreed. She hummed contended and walked around a corner on a huge plaza which buzzed with citizens, merchants and other. At the other end of the square was a stage and a huge crowd had gathered around it. Her curiosity was awake now. Maybe it was a play or a singer who told about the news from the world.

"What is this commotion?" Lenka asked a woman who hurried away.

"A slave auction."

 _Slave traders!_ growled Orias. _They have no dignity whatsoever._

 _Indeed,_ agreed Gusion and Orobas added: _Let's see if we can free them._

Lenka nodded and forced her way towards the podium crafted from rough planks. The slave merchant was a fat man with many golden rings and a smirk that rivaled Sindbad's in perverseness. His voice echoed over the crowd and the traveler spotted some wealthy-looking merchants. Apparently today was a big catch for sale. She gritted her teeth. This was really despicable! She had been sure that slavery was illegal in this part of the world but apparently the city lacked morals after the frequent attacks from the pirates. And when the soldiers were away to protect the borders from Magnostadt criminality blossomed. Surely those lunatics from Al-Thamen had their fingers in this as well.

"And today's special good!" the trader announced and winked with his hand whereupon eight man climbed up to him, heavy chains clinked as they tugged the slave to the front. Lenka stopped breathing and the color drained from her face.

"Caught two weeks ago at the border! An extremely rare specimen! A nine to ten year old male fanalis!"

The boy was completely wrapped up with chains, he could barely walk. His hair was a bit longer than Masrur's and ruffled, red eyes stared frightened down into the noisy crowd. Lenka's ears tingled.

Henry. He is younger than Henry.

"The starting price-"

" _STOP THIS IN AN INSTANT!"_

Her yell was loud enough to reach every man on the plaza. The crowd parted to let her to the tribune, hundreds of interested eyes followed her. Lenka felt their gazes while walking but they didn't affect her. The aura of hers, humming with power and anger forced them out of her way until she stood in front of the vendor. He leered at her with obvious interest at first but paled when her stormy gray eyes met his.

"You will sell this child to me then quit this business."

The slave trader's eyes widened and Lenka herd the surprised gasps and murmurs behind her. The faint glimmer of hope appeared in the boy's face as he watched her. Then the fat man chuckled.

"I don't believe I will sell such a fine-"

"Orias, spirit of mine, open space."

At her command a black glittering hole opened in the fabric of the world, Lenka reached out and pulled a big sack with dungeon treasure out of it. She threw it up on the stage then jumped up as well; the bag was almost as large as the man was.

"More than your weight in gold and jewelry. Now give me the keys," she demanded. He opened the bag to check, peeked into it then turned back to her, leering like the scumbag he was.

"This should be enough for him, M'lady."

Lenka snorted.

"This is enough for him and you to quit slave trading. Give me the keys," she repeated. The crowd was silent now, everyone was watching her argument with the fat man who raised his fingers and inspected a ring he had pulled out of the sack.

"Why should I quit when I have such good business right now?"

The traveler scowled and took a step forward then released her killing intent. A hiss went through the people watching and the slave trade stumbled backwards, his face white with shock and fear as the menace affected him.

"What? Who-"

She stretched her hand out.

"Give. Me. The. Keys. And. Quit. Scumbag." she ordered. The man fiddled with the key ring and managed accidentally – or intentionally – to drop them through a hole in the floor. Lenka growled.

"Have you just drop the keys through a hole in the floor you-"

The crowd whispered, angry screams were heard. Apparently some were feeling the same way as she did right now. The traveler sighed and turned to the captured boy while waving her hand at the men holding the chains.

"Please step away."

They didn't move but stared angered at her so Lenka unleashed her killing intent again. Five of them ran away screaming in fear and she bared her teeth at the remaining three while pointing on the boy.

"Gusion, protect his skin. Orobas, melt the shackles."

A thin layer of liquid covered the fanalis who gasped in surprise when the white flames shot forward, the shackles melted and crumbled under the heat. The dungeon capturer stepped forward and pulled the boy to her side then stared at the slave trader.

"You have the money. Now quit and leave or I will have my djinn make you quit."

The man whined and started to babble and murmur while the crowd began to get noisy. Lenka smiled at the boy.

"Let's get away, shall we?"

His blank fanalis stare told her nothing but nevertheless she pulled the scarf off and grabbed his small hand.

"Get on, please."

He hesitated for a second then stepped on the fabric that rose to the sky when she got on as well and gave the command to fly to the hotel. The girl sat down and sighed then caught his glance.

"I won't let go of your hand. You would die if you were to jump or fall from this height."

The boy blinked then slowly kneeled without averting his eyes as if she was some sort of a dangerous animal.

"We will be at the hotel I stay in a few seconds," she said with a warm smile then stretched her free arm. "I'm really hungry now, I had to save the ship from pirates this morning. They strain the trade between Aktia and other countries. Ah, here we are."

In wise precognition she had left the window open but Orias placed an illusion over it so she simply had to command the scarf to fly in and drop them gently on the floor. Lenka continued to smile when she stood up, leaving the boy sitting on the wooden floor.

"Flying is fantastic, isn't it? Just let me order food and prepare a bath for the two of us, I haven't bathed in what feels like ages and it seems like you need one as well. Please stay where you are, it would be a loss of time and money if you tried to escape or trash around and I have to clean up afterwards."

He nodded slowly and the blonde walked four steps to the door and looked out. Luckily a maid passed by and she could order room service then turned back to the fanalis who had moved a bit to watch her. Lenka stepped to the door that led to the bathroom and pointed at the tub.

"I'm using a bit of my magic to get us hot water, please don't be afraid."

She used Gusion to collect water from the damp air outside and white flames to heat it then went back into the main room and crouched down in front of the boy.

"Shall I help you with bathing or can you do it alone?"

He reminded her of an albino rabbit, big red eyes that never left her out of sight as he slowly stood up.

"... alone."

His voice was deep for a nine to ten year old but had the same calm as Morgiana's and Masrur's. She smiled up to him.

"There is a piece of soap next to the towels. In the meantime I look if I have clothes that could fit you, okay?"

A nod. The traveler stood up and went over to the chest she had pulled out of space after her arrival. Light footsteps and the creaking sound of the door told her that the boy left the room.

 _What will you do with him?_ Orobas spoke for the first time since the purchase and Lenka shrugged while pulling out a short dress then stuffed it back.

I _actually don't know – wait, I do know. There is the fanalis corps in Reim. I think bringing him to them would be a good idea._

 _So he is not a possible household vessel?_ Orias asked with concern. She frowned then grabbed her white top from London and a piece of cloth.

 _He is not. He is a child for that I will find a suitable home in a place where his is life is not in danger. No one of you claims him, understood?_

Orias smiled approvingly.

 _That is a great decision. I won't._

… _me neither_ , Gusion yawned.

 _I respect your wish, my dear darling queen._

 _Geez, you charmer,_ Lenka chuckled then went to the door to let the servants in who placed the mountains of food on the table and left. A few seconds after the door fell shut the one to the bathroom opened and the boy peeked in the room. She gave him a warm smile then stretched her arm with the clothes out.

"If you're done changing you can eat while I take a bath. Make sure to chew properly, it's hot."

He nodded and took the offering then disappeared again. She sighed and sorted changing clothes out, underwear, shorts and a wide shirt that she had bought with Pisti and long boots that were almost high stockings similar to those she had seen Titus Alexius wearing them in the manga.

The door opened and the boy hushed outside to the table to look at her from a safe distance.

"I think I should buy clothes for you tomorrow," she mused and stepped to the bath.

"Remember, please chew properly and hands off the wine."

* * *

The whole situation was strange yet somehow heartbreaking to Lenka. The fanalis boy was like a small animal, a rabbit in front of a snake or a deer in the lights of a car. He stared at her when she left the bath clean and freshly dressed, he stared at her when she finished her dinner – he had eaten quite a lot despite his skinny frame – and he stared at her now while she was sitting on the bed and he on the floor next to the bathroom. She was sure that he had stared at her when she had casted an illusion around him so that the maids could take away the dishes too. Truly, a frightened animal but she was sure she just had to wait until he would speak again. The night had fallen already when that time came.

"Why did you save me?"

His red gaze was unwavering but Lenka could tell he was scared. Scared of her, of her power, her djinn. She smiled, answering his glance.

"You reminded me of my brother."

His eyes widened nearly unnoticeable and she continued.

"When I saw you standing up there on the stage all I could think was that you were younger than my brother."

She started to fiddle with the ring she wore after finding it in Gusion's dungeon.

"Maybe it was a kind of guilt because I couldn't save him but I'm convinced that no child should be a slave."

He continued to stare at her before asking his next question.

"Is your brother a slave?"

She shook her head.

"No, but I left him and my sister alone with our abusive father. That is almost as bad."

There was the truth she had told no one yet, not even Aladdin. Yet she admitted it in front of this boy who looked so fragile, so tiny.

"Why don't you return home and save him?"

She took a deep breath.

"I am from another world. Another dimension. And I don't know if I ever can return to them. That's why I decided to save as many persons as I can, to give them the safe life my siblings probably don't have."

He was silent for a minute. Then another until Lenka carefully asked: "Do you know if your parents are still alive?"

He began to tremble then shook his head. A sob escaped him causing her to swallow the pang of guilt of having asked that question so she stood up, picked him up, carried him back to the bed and placed him on her lap. The boy wrapped his arms around her, buried his face in her blouse and started to cry.

"They are gone. Gone."

The dungeon capturer cradled him, petted his soft hair and tiny back while humming the tune that had not only calmed Valerie and Henry but Aladdin as well. It worked on the fanalis too, after a few more minutes his sobbing calmed until it completely stopped. Still she waited a bit more, hugging him tightly before she spoke.

"Will you tell me your name?"

"Miran," he whispered near her collarbone.

"I'm Lenka. Actually Marlene-Karen, but that's way too long for a name, so I took a few letters and created a nickname myself."

Her voice seemed to calm him almost as well as her humming so she continued.

"I have a good friend, she is called Morgiana. Her nickname is Mor and sometimes even Mo. She is a fanalis pure-blood, around fifteen, and I love her like my sister. She is calm and composed most times but can be really frightening if she fights. Until a year or so she was a slave."

Miran looked up to her with wide eyes as she continued.

"I know her since seven months but she is very dear to me. She, I and two of our friends spent the past half year in Sindria, the kingdom of Sinbad. Have you heard of his adventures, Miran?"

He nodded.

"Mom would read them to me every evening."

She hummed a bit.

"Then you know about Sinbad's general, Masrur? He is a fanalis as well and was Mor's teacher during our time there. They are both pure-bloods and terrifyingly strong. They have the same eyes as you do."

A small smile appeared on his face.

"Mom and Father had eyes like me too. And hair, even though Mom's had more the color of raspberries than mine."

Lenka ruffled the still slightly wet strands.

"Then I can foresee that you will become very, very strong."

"Can you see the future?" he asked in amazement.

"Not a tiny bit, I have read everything I know, but fanalis are always strong. Have you heard of Reim's fanalis corps?"

He leaned a bit away to have a better look at her, saw the genuine gentle smile and decided to trust her. He shook his head and the girl chuckled.

"They are the strongest military unit Reim has, their pride. Their leader is Muu Alexius, a half-blood who has conquered a dungeon. I have heard only stories but the corps has to be incredible."

Miran smiled then his eyes widened.

"You have conquered a dungeon too!"

"Not only one but three," she corrected with a proud grin. "I am amazing too. Say, Miran, I want to travel to Reim's capital Remano to meet the highest priestess. The fanalis corps will probably be there too. What about if you joined them?"

The boy's eyes started to sparkle and he nodded quickly.

"That would be great."

Lenka stretched her hand out while grinning wide.

"Would you travel with me then?"

Miran nodded again and grabbed her hand.

"Please take care of me."

"I will. So the plans for tomorrow are buying clothes for you, buying food and looking if there are ships that will take off to Reim the same day. If not we fly over land."

He smiled happily at her.

"That sounds great. I'm happy that I met you, Lenka."

* * *

Miran's eyes were as big as saucer plates and his grip on her hand was almost painful when they walked around the docks to ask the captains where to they would sail. Lenka had bought him clothes in which he could move easily, dark green pants and a sleeveless shirt with a sash but he had refused to wear shoes, like most fanalis did and had given him a dagger so that he could defend himself if there was not enough room to land a kick. The boy had decided to trust her completely without asking more questions and she was really happy that she had come at the right time to save him.

She looked up as she heard someone call her name and smiled at the captain of the _Anneliese_ , 'gray mustache and raisin face man' as her djinn called him, who walked up to her.

"Miss Lenka, nice to see you again. Are you looking for a ship?"

Lenka nodded.

"I do, my destination is Reim after all."

The man grinned wide and showed her a few gold teeth.

"That is good because I changed plans and will sail there as well with a ship full of exotic spices from the east. Can I ask you for your company and protection a second time?"

"Sure, if the cabin I had on the trip here is still free and we can get a second hammock."

The captain tilted his head then smiled at Miran who was glued to her left leg and stared at the man with big eyes.

"Of course you will get everything you need, Miss Lenka. Oh no, you don't have to pay anything, the fact that you will protect the cargo better than anyone else is enough for this man."

"Please accept this and use it to buy a bit more food, Miran and I are always hungry," she said with a grin and handed him a small pouch filled with Sindrian gold coins. He saluted in front of her and guided them aboard.

"We will leave with the flood, in approximately two hours. Make yourself home again, dear Miss Lenka, little Miran."

"We will," she laughed and smiled at her companion.

"I just hope you won't get as sea-sick as I did on my first longer journey by ship. That was true torture, I couldn't eat for days without sacrificing it to the sea god a few minutes later."

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"So I know what awaits me now," he said dryly causing her to grin and ruffle his hair.

"That kind of humour is something you fanalis share, isn't it? I'm glad you will keep me company. Maybe I won't suffer so much this time, it's only four days if I speed the ship up and I certainly will do that. That's going to be funny! Maybe we'll run into pirates again."

 _Poor pirates,_ grinned Orobas.

"Poor pirates," mumbled Miran as he followed Lenka to the side that was near the sea.

 _Lenka, I like him! He's a good kid! Make him a household vessel!_

 _No._

 _Please!_

 _NO. End of discussion._

 _Aw. Meanie._

… _if he doesn't I do it._

 _No, Gusion. No one of you will make him household vessel because he will join the fanalis corps._

 _And he will join us before that,_ Orias assured his brother _. He certainly will._

 _Oh guys,_ Lenka sighed then hurried over to keep her charge from falling over the railing in his curiosity.

* * *

 **And here is as melodichummingbird requested an extra about Judar after the dungeon conquest in chapter 14. Enjoy!**

* * *

When he arrived at the base at the border to Balbadd Judar was convinced that raising that dungeon and going on the conquest had been one of the worst ideas he had until now. Okay, he had planned raising a dungeon while flying around aimlessly over the thousands of small islands between Balbadd and Sindria until he found the most suitable which was surprisingly close to the stupid king's kingdom. And who was he if he wouldn't pay his old acquaintance a visit just to annoy him? A bit of curiosity had played in as well, he hadn't been there for a long time and wanted to see what Sinbad had achieved, to his annoyance more than he had thought. Bugging him was the next step and yeah, the nagging of the geezers of the organization had been a reason as well, always Aladdin, Aladdin, what is his power blah blah. The midget wasn't that impressive, he had just this strange power and the djinn and her. Maybe he was interested in the boy, simply because of the things he had and where the hell he got them. Okay, he was envious. Really envious, Judar had to admit and wrinkled his nose while floating deeper. The midget's dungeon capturer was a joke, his were way stronger, better and had more _magoi_. _He_ was way better, stronger, had more _magoi_ and a country. So why the hell was Lenka with the shrimp and not with him?!

Those were more or less the reasons why he broke the shield and invaded the palace, hoping that they were still with Sinbad and cornered the stupid king with the topic 'who the heck is the fourth Magi?'. So far so good, he had a great time messing with him, declaring war seemed only natural to do. His fault for declining his numerous and grateful offers to become Sindria's Magi. Kougyoku's appearance was no big deal either, it was actually fortunate, the more he could confuse them the more fun it would be.

And then Lenka stepped forward. The Rukh seemed to be attracted by her, almost as much as they were by him, yet in a completely different way. She appeared to be a container for them, they flew through her, black and white but only white left. It hadn't been like that in Balbadd, he would have remembered something this extraordinary. She was stronger than back then and he quickly discovered why: she had conquered a second dungeon.

He had to avow that his reaction had been a bit childish, the traveling dude would never pick a king vessel without meeting him or her first but he was somehow pissed off about her having that djinn. In a split second he decided to let her conquer his new dungeon. Her decline to be his king vessel was annoying, the conditions for the favor were as well but that she actually offered a favor was really interesting.

Judar landed on the street and instantly the soldiers greeted him.

"Lord Priest!"

"Lord Oracle!"

He ignored their behavior and ambled towards headquarters, completely unaware of the six men following him. Guards. Like he needed guards. He was the Magi of the Kou empire, he wasn't in the need for guards. He may needed a warrior, but certainly no guards.

A loud tapping interrupted his thoughts as Kouha wrapped himself around his left arm.

"Finally! Where have you been, Judar?"

His pink-haired king vessel grinned at him.

"Isn't it unbearably damp in this country? I'm sweating all the time!"

"Then don't stick to me, that's not going to help."

He tried to shove Kouha away while the boy grabbed him tighter. Sindria hadn't been this hot and damp. The dungeon either.

"Priest!"

Ren Koumei, second prince of Kou scurried towards him, his robes and hair were as messy as always and he looked like he hadn't slept for almost a week.

"Where have you been? I couldn't reach you and started to worry."

Judar rolled his eyes and handed him a small package.

"Hello Koumei, the same dull glance as always. Take this as an excuse for the delay."

He surely wouldn't tell him the main reason because the man would explode like fireworks for sure. Damn his stupid self, his stupid plan and her.

"What is this?" the other asked and eyed the emblem on the wrapping.

"Smoked squid, a Sindrian specialty."

"Sindria!?" Koumei yelped while Kouha ran over to him to get a better look at the package. "No wonder you were late. What were you doing over there?"

Judar frowned.

" _What was that for a show? Put me down!" Lenka yelled in his ear._

" _Okay."_

" _Wait!"_

" _What?!"_

 _What was her problem now, he simply had loosened his grip around her waist like she wanted him to do, so why she had to cling to him like her life depended on it? Not that he would complain about that._

" _Not this high above the island!"_

 _They landed on the roof of a house in the marked district and she instantly let go off him to catch her breath then poked his sternum._

" _You. What were you thinking? Declaring war to Sindria? To the Alliance? Are you insane?"_

" _I'm not insane," he snapped back. "This is a great opportunity for the Kou empire. They have five metal vessel users-"_

" _The alliance has Sinbad, Armakan Amun-Ra of Heliohapt, Artemina from Artemyra, Darius Leoxses from Sasan, the Super chief dude from Imchakk and fore sure one or two more; even though they have no Magi they can fight back easily."_

" _Time and tide wait for no man."_

" _Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity!" she huffed angrily then sighed. "Even a Magi can be killed in a war and I have to prevent that. I fear the-"_

 _She stopped in mid-sentence with a horrified expression and covered her mouth with both hands. He snickered and tried to pull them away._

" _You fear what? Tell me."_

" _You doing something really stupid, like destroying entire islands just because you're bored," she hissed at him. Her flustered face was really cute he decided with a grin, shrugged and turned around._

" _Is that so? Don't worry, I won't destroy Sindria. Yet," he added with a smirk then started to float again to look at the bustling streets. "Look, they sell smoked squid."_

" _Wait, take my money, just don't steal here. And buy the ones from the stall a few streets further towards the port, they are better there."_

" _How do you know?"_

 _She grinned wide and jumped down on the street._

" _I've been living here for almost seven months!"_

"Nothing special," he answered after a few seconds. "Let's go. Your big brother is waiting for me for sure."

Koumei mumbled something unintelligible while Kouha started to question him about Sindria. Judar answered a few of them before they reached the staircase to the headquarters and walked into the huge chamber where Ren Kouen, first prince and supreme commander of the western expedition was waiting. Koumei and Kouha kneeled in front of their older brother while he remained standing. He was a Magi, Magi bowed before no one, not even for the gods.

"Priest! What were you thinking, worrying our young master to this extend?" older general on the right side said and old general on the left side nodded in agree. Judar didn't bother to learn their names. Or to listen to their ramblings. They were surely boring. Kouen waved his hand and the two geezers stopped instantly.

"That's enough."

He smiled at Judar, a dangerous, preying smirk.

"You really made me wait. I hope you came up with an interesting souvenir."

"I informed Sinbad."

He did, hadn't he? The dungeon conquest must have confused him more than he had thought. Oh, the dungeon conquest... Worst. Idea. Ever.

"I told him that we were going to war against him."

Yeah, he had threatened the stupid king before Kougyoku stepped in. And Lenka stepped in. And they flew to the dungeon. And he did one of the most stupid acts in his life.

Koumei yelped in horror, Kouha looked surprised and Kouen started grin while the other people in the hall turned noisy.

"You dare to challenge Sindria and the Alliance of the Seven Seas without the permission of the emperor?" Koumei yelled furious but stopped as his brother started to laugh. Kouen wasn't the type to laugh, the hall instantly fell silent.

"I like that," he finally said with a grin. "That's our Magi."

He stood up and looked at the mass of people, creatures and what else was in the room.

"Attention! At the moment our Kou empire might just rule the east, but soon... the whole world!"

The Rukh filled the room, black and white, chirping and creating an almost menacing aura around Kouen and his four assimilated household vessels, Kouha's mages and the other household vessels. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards as he watched the fluttering birds settle down again. This was Kou. Strong, fierce, powerful. The country he served, he helped to become this magnificent. The country that would rule the world.

"Judar."

He looked up at Kouen who connoted him to follow outside into a smaller room, Mei and Ha trailed behind. The prince sat down on a couch and nodded; his brothers took place as well. A second or five passed in which he and his king candidate stared at each other. Kouen started to fumble with his ridiculous goatee before speaking.

"I don't doubt your story," he began, "but I think there is another reason for your late arrival. Tell me."

Stupid Kouen, stupid plan, stupid me, he thought and shrugged.

"I raised a dungeon."

Koumei tried to say something but was silenced.

"Where?"

"On a small island. Don't worry, it's been captured. We might get another ally."

If Lenka would switch plans and come to Kou and not to Reim. The old hag there didn't need her as much as he did. Wait... that sounded strange. Did he need her? Kou, he wanted to think Kou. Since when did he had to justify his own thoughts?

"I didn't think you would choose another king candidate besides us, but tthat could prove to be fortunate. Time sure has passed since the last conquest."

He choose her as king _vessel_ , not just as candidate but she declined. His. Offer. At least he had that favor to ask. But what would he ask her to do? Something really good. Maybe her servitude for her life. Or that she would have to be his warrior. That would be nice. Sadly she wouldn't destroy Sindria together with him...

"Hm?" he said as he noticed that the three were looking at him. "What?"

"I asked when he will arrive?" Kouen repeated. Judar frowned then sighed heavily and kicked against the couch Kouha was sitting on.

"I don't know when or if she will come. But I think I've bugged Sinbad enough to kick her out of Sindria."

"Is she his fiancee?" Koumei paled while Kouha asked "Didn't you say you would never let a girl conquer again because they were always crying and so straining? You said that after Kougyoku got her djinn."

"No she turned him down. And she's not like that."

She had cried but only because of the illusions she had seen. And than almost fell into depravity. How she managed to get back was a riddle to him, but he had enough time to solve it.

"So she is a woman who refused to be Sinbad's wife and queen? Interesting. Is she your taste?" Kouen said with a smirk. Judar didn't like the combination of what he said and his expression. And the thought of Sinbad wanting Lenka to be his queen. He should have smashed his palace to smoking pieces then buried it under tons of never melting ice.

"Weird. She is a weird person."

She was different from the women in the palace, wasn't intimidated by him and argued back. But he had seen her nice and caring side due to the pieces of memory she subconsciously transferred to him when she healed him in Balbadd. And her weaknesses in the dungeon Orias.

"But she has to be someone special if you sent her to the dungeon."

"She is friends with Kougyoku. Is that special enough?"

If it had been someone else who said this words it would be him howling with laughter, but after he saw how her Rukh had flown into the old hag he couldn't make fun of that. Kouha laughed in his stead then stared at him with big eyes.

"Seriously?"

"She is the dungeon capturer we met in Balbadd. The hag might have pestered you with stories about her how she helped to tend my injuries and spent time with her and stuff."

He spotted her on the roof of a house, looking into the green yard while eating peaches. The hag had been with the glasses advisor guy so he had decided to fly around for a bit and noticed the strange movement of the Rukh. He followed them until he found a young woman with golden hair, clothes similar to his and eyes of the color of steel and silver. She was special, he had the feeling she was even before she told him she came from a place without Rukh.

Kouen nodded slowly.

"She indeed told me about a person who spent time with her and sent a letter. So it was her second dungeon."

"Her third," he corrected with another shrug. Koumei and Kouha yelped surprised while Kouen smirked and chuckled, much to the surprise of his brothers. He seemed to have a good day.

"Her third? I have to meet her. Why didn't you bring her?"

And here was the core of the problem. After she had decided to go to Reim he had tried to find a way to convince her to come with him and tried to remember every moment he had spent with her to get a clue or reason and stumbled over the events in Balbadd when he had that djinn and did a bit small-talk with her and Sinbad. Actually he had been interested in her since she shared her peaches with him but her blushing face was really funny, so he had tried to make her blush even more to see if she could get as red as Kouen's hair but her bold replies brought their talk to an interesting topic. Or rather straining. Sinbad that womanizer. The playboy of the seven seas he was! Luckily Lenka didn't fall for his trap. Or did she? He thought puberty had been over but damn he had been _so_ pissed off by the images invading his mind. Mostly indecent images. So he had asked her about kissing Sinbad. And then-

"AAAAARGH! THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!" he screamed and shot a set of ice spears out the window and into the blue sky. Then another. A third was followed by a fourth and fifth and a sixth, just for fun until he was sure he was calm enough to think about Lenka again. And wanted to have a spell to turn back time because Kouen was laughing his ass off. Much to the utter horror of Koumei and Kouha.

"You're totally clueless, aren't you, Judar?"

"Shut up Kouen! I'm leaving!"

"You won't leave this room until-"

"You can't!"

But the Magi had already flown outside, leaving a laughing, an angered and a pouting prince behind.

* * *

 **Chapter 15! 5,000 words plus 2,700 words extra! Yaay! Got to introduce another OC besides Lenka and finally I can start the long, long countdown to the battle with the Medium. Many chapters to write before I start college and my free time drastically decreases... Oh well, life goes on either way.**

 **Thanks to everyone who read, followed/favorited and/or reviewed!**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 16 Meeting Eligos

And she managed to get seasick again, but luckily only for the first day of their travel. Miran stayed at her side during that time until the captain asked him if he would like to take a look at the map and learn a bit about ships and after Lenka assured him that no one on this ship would do him any harm because then they would get a problem with her he went with the mustache man. She was happy that he seemed to get over the terrible experience he had made and was nevertheless surprised as he flooded her with information about the route, the ship and that they could probably see dolphins, he had never seen dolphins and if they were nice animals. He was quite chatty after he had warmed up to her and followed her almost everywhere like a puppy and was simply an adorable child, plus he had gladly appreciated her lessons on writing and reading, because he could do counting already. Right now they were standing at the right – she was still unsure if this was starboard or larboard, probably she would never learn – side of the _Annelies_ e and enjoying the early morning's breeze that pushed them forward until Miran squinted his eyes at a sight of something in the distance only fanalis eyes could see.

"Lenka, there is another ship," he said and pointed on it. She blinked and looked at the Rukh's movement until she detected it as well.

"Can you see which colour the flag has or which emblem they have?"

The boy leaned over the railing and Lenka immediately grabbed the back of his shirt to keep him from falling.

"... no," he answered after a few seconds. "But they are coming this way. And another ship has appeared. Their flag is black with a white dot."

His eyes sparkled as he looked up to her with a rather untypically big grin for a fanalis.

"Are they pirates? Will you sink them? Will they fight?"

But his blood-thirst was typical and hers was not better, sometimes even worse. Lenka grinned as well and ruffled his hair while pulling him down from the rail.

"Tell the captain that I take a look, will you? Maybe you will see an explosion."

He nodded euphorically and raced over to the mustached man while the blonde stretched her arms and cracked her knuckles.

 _Ready for action? Orobas plus camouflage illusion?_

… _I want to sink them,_ Gusion pouted but the twins nodded in anticipation.

 _Sure thing, Lenka, Gusion, you had the last pirates, it's our turn now,_ cheered Orobas and in the blink of an eye the revealing chains and cloth stripes of the armor equipped before she disappeared in a blur of heat and blue and white. A second later the illusion of the blue sky covered her and Lenka laughed.

 _Stealth mode on!_

 _No video game references_ , Orobas sighed and his brother raised an eyebrow.

 _I thought you liked_ Candy Crush _, I like it._

 _When we fought in Balbadd she switched to_ MMORPG _talk, that was not funny._

 _Player Lenka approached possible pirate ship._

 _I see what you mean._

Lenka switched the equip off then landed on the railing then tip-toed over to the captain and some of his sailors to listen what the men were saying.

"... probably a ship from the east."

"The coat of arms is Sindrian, so a big catch."

"We use the same tactic as always, someone tell that Captain Gunnar," the pirate boss said and scratched his black beard then straightened his clothes.

"Okay, men, the same procedure as always!"

"Captain, how far away is land?"

"Fifteen miles – who was that?" he bellowed and turned around to see where the voice came from. Lenka grinned and dropped the illusion, causing the pirates to flinch, some even yelped in surprise to see a woman in shorts standing on the railing and grinning so wide that they could almost see her molar teeth.

"Pardon my intrusion, but are you perhaps pirates?"

"A woman?" the captain asked with furrowed bushy brow – he had only one, quite a sight – and she almost started to laugh at this hilarious face. Her grin turned feral as she pointed at him while standing with the other hand on her hip.

"I hereby declare that you're under attack. Surrender or sink!"

The pirates blinked then started to laugh at her, Lenka joined because they were simply so ridiculously clueless! Captain Mono-brow stopped after a few "Har harr harr" to stare at her in growing anger.

"Woman, are you mocking me?"

Lenka snorted a last time and waved with a hand.

"No, that was the truth. I came with intent to destroy and the spirit of pure flames dwelling in my body, turning me into a great sorcerer – _Orobas_!"

 _Haah, their faces!_ he whooped as the dumbstruck pirates stared at the flaming pervert equipped Lenka before she jumped up to hover over the ships.

"I hope you mentally challenged gits can swim!" she yelled and raised her blue saber. _"Incense's terminal blaze!"_

A white pillar of fire shot downwards and turned the ships into torches, screaming pirates hopped into the water while others were clever enough to grab pieces of wood first. Lenka made sure that there was enough debris for them to hold on before she shot back to her own ship. Miran waved at her with sparkling eyes while jumping up and down in excitement.

"That was incredible! We saw the fire shoot down and then _kaboom_!"

She laughed and ruffled his hair then ended the equip.

"You're quite fond of destruction, aren't you? Don't let that take over, destruction should be done in moderation."

He nodded eagerly and hugged her.

"Okay, Lenka. Your djinn are great!"

Orobas whined.

 _I wanna make him household._

 _No, you won't._

* * *

 _Oh, come on, just a tiny bit,_ Orobas begged even hours later when they had left the ship and continued their travel to the capital Remano by foot.

 _You can't make someone a bit household, either you do or you don't._

 _Aw, Lenka, that's so unfair!_

 _It is not, this is a measure I have to take to protect him,_ she said and glanced at Miran who walked on her left side. The boy had turned silent as soon as they had parted with the crew and grabbed her hand tightly until they had left the city on the street was made in the same way like those she had seen when visiting Rome, but this one was in better condition. He looked up and smiled then pointed at the dark clouds that were the new cause of her worry. Thunder growled and bolts of lightning illuminated the gray mass like a freaky disco.

"The storm came even closer. We will get all wet."

"Gusion will take care of that, but the strong wind bothers me more. It will blow you away because you are such a feather-weight."

Miran giggled as she poked his side and jumped a few meters away.

"That would be funny, but then you would have to catch me."

"And that would be not funny," she smiled. "Can you see an inn or something like that where we can wait for the storm to pass?"

The fanalis nodded and turned his head in every direction before jumping up to see what was behind the trees that grew next to the road and over the soft hills.

"There is a tower, or rather the ruins of a tower," he cheered and pointed on something far right. Lenka frowned. A tower? Ruins? On the territory of Reim?

 _Do you think what I think this is?_

 _A dungeon?_ Orias tilted his head and looked at the other djinn who nodded.

 _Could be a dungeon. Want another djinn?_ Asked Gusion.

 _If Scheherazade has raised this one wouldn't she be mad if I conquered it?_

 _You are going to offer her your services, she will get over that,_ Orobas assumed. Lenka sighed and looked at Miran who wiped his nose.

"A raindrop hit me," he said with furrowed brows causing her to snicker.

"Then do I have to punish that raindrop for hitting you?"

"Ha ha, funny," the boy rolled his red eyes. "So are we going to the ruins for shelter?"

"We run," decided the blonde and sped up. Miran squealed with joy and raced after her, up the hill and then down on the other side. Lenka was surprised that she had enough stamina to keep up with the small fanalis and even more as she was actually faster than him even though they were both running at full speed.

 _The Rukh are altering your body, my … Lenka,_ Orias explained while looking at a scroll and scratched his nose. _You are faster, stronger and more arduous than a normal human. That might be a side-effect from being Solomon's warrior. The strongest warrior race back in Alma Toran and now here were the red lions or their human counterpart, the fanalis. I think it's no accident that you are like this._

 _Is that the reason why I grew two inches? I was so sure that I was too old to grow any longer._

 _Think positively,_ Orobas grinned _, you're almost one meter and eighty centimeters tall! You can spit on almost everyone's head!_

 _Ha ha, funny. That's 5.10 or so, right? I'm still too fat to be a model._

"Uwah, rain!" yelped Miran and the cold sensation broke Lenka's concentration as giant drops fell down and drenched them in seconds. Thunder boomed not even a second after lightning struck the earth and the howling of the wind was vicious, slowed them down until they ran at the normal speed of a human. They skidded the last meters down the hill and under a half-crumbled balcony a blink before coin-sized hail thrummed down on the ground.

Miran shook himself like a wet dog and sneezed then started to wring out his wet clothes.

"That's a really big storm."

Lenka nodded and continued to watch the Rukh dancing in the rain, chirping happily then turning and passing her to fly deeper in the ruins. She looked after them and frowned. The whole building thrummed with power and the eight-pointed star glistened under a bow up a staircase.

"Now we have proof that this is a dungeon," she sighed and turned to her companion.

"What should we do?"

Miran blinked then his eyes started to sparkle.

"Is this really a dungeon? Can we conquer it?"

The girl shrugged and wrung her hair out.

"I think Reim's Magi Scheherazade summoned it for one of her followers, so I am unsure if to capture it or not. A message from Big S would be great now, wouldn't it?"

 _I hope he doesn't hear your blasphemy,_ Orias shuddered.

 _It's not like he doesn't know how I behave, he teleported me here. Or rather he brought me to the Sacred Palace and Ugo teleported me into Orobas's dungeon... Oh! Ugo said I should try to capture as many dungeons as I am able to do so, didn't he? Now that gives me permission to do capturing, doesn't it?_

Her djinn looked at each other then nodded.

… _sounds plausible._

 _I'm okay with your decision, Lenka._

She nodded then touched each of the metal vessels and grinned at Miran.

"You don't mind accompanying me? I have the strong urge to piss a Magi off."

He laughed and grabbed her hand.

"Wherever you go I go with you!"

Together they climbed the stairs to the entrance and stepped into the light filling the arch. Miran's jaw fell as the surge of magic power pulled them in the red pillar between the dungeon and the ruins. Rukh fluttered around, singing a song only Magi and Magicians could understand, of power and adventures and danger, victory and uncounted treasure. His grip around Lenka's hand tightened until it was almost painfully as they rushed towards the dungeon and in the blink of an eye they were in a dim cavern. She sighed, took a quick look at her surroundings and nodded approvingly.

"Here we are, so let's survive until we're done."

"Okay, Lenka," Miran said and they started their walk through the tunnel of rough stone. The fanalis heard it first but after a few more minutes Lenka noticed a roaring sound, as if there was water falling down a cliff. She frowned and looked at the Rukh. Individuals, more than forty, less than a hundred. Dungeon creatures. The traveler hummed and touched her blade's hilt.

"Miran, I forgot to ask, but can you fight? Even so, stay close to me."

"I am a fanalis. I can always land a kick. It took seven grown men to keep me down," he said and let go of her to bend his arms for preparation. She snickered and drew her sword before stepping in the vast hall. Lizard monsters, dragons, whatever they were called here, crawling and screeching, filled the room, huge rocks and crevices in the wall provided shelter. And a giant exemplar, the big boss, king ugly face, foul teeth and broken horns waited in the center of the room.

A rush of adrenalin filled her and with a joyful cry she jumped down to start her massacring of the dungeon monsters. The sparring with Sharrkan had bore fruits, her swipes, slashes, stabs were efficient, fluid and absolutely fatal yet Lenka couldn't shake off the illusion that this fight felt like a video game. Whenever a monster came to close a blast of fire would scorch it and from the scorched charcoal spears would rise and create a wall to protect her. The djinn reacted as if they were a part of her yet she wasn't even using weapon equip.

Miran on the other had was capable of some nasty kicks to get the monsters away from him, or hitting their vital points either with his heel or with the dagger she had given him. He looked happy yet very terrifying, small spatters of green blood on his cheeks and feet and the wide grin showed how much he enjoyed this. Lenka payed attention to him while fighting her own enemies and was more than glad that he was fast enough to get away and to her side whenever it seemed he was in the worse position.

The monster boss let out a screeching roar and exhaled a cloud of green mist to hit the travelers, but Gusion absorbed it before it was even near.

 _Quite stupid to attack me with poison. I want the killing blow._

"Fine with me. Miran, jump up!" she yelled while rushing towards the beast. The boy did as she said and broke the wall while clawing himself in the stone like a gecko. Lenka grinned and summoned the djinn weapon.

"Heed the words of the poison master! _Diamond falling spear!_ "

 _Wow, that sounds cool,_ Orobas whistled as the sword-lance chopped the beast king in halves.

 _It's as hard as diamond, and she jumped down to deliver the attack,_ Gusion said with smug face. _The name fits._

Lenka turned back to her companion.

"Are you alright, dear?"

He nodded, jumped down to squat the last minion and raced over to her.

"That was funny. Do you think that there are more monsters?" he said and glanced around then pointed at a door that had been definitely not there before. "Maybe there?"

She laughed and wiped his face clean.

"This is a dungeon, a place you should never enter until you're absolutely sure you can survive, isn't it? Trust me, you will get sick of monsters until we finish the conquest, my dear."

She kicked the door open and a bunch of rock monster stared at them causing Lenka to hum approvingly.

"Tactics change. I heat them up then cool them down and you break them please."

Before the boy had the time to nod his agree meteors fell from the sky and hit the stone giants, causing them to melt partially before water spheres collided with their surface and cooled them down again, cracking noises accompanying this process. Miran blinked surprised at the velocity of his protector's attacks then kicked the nearest creature in the midriff; it shattered and a cloud of dust rose. He smiled and jumped from monster to monster, busting them, crushing them into heaps of pebbles so that he won't be a nuisance for Lenka, could be helpful, repay her for her kindness. When the last stone crumbled under his foot he brushed his pants clean then skipped back to her side.

"Good?"

The blonde hummed again and ruffled his hair with a wide smile.

"And again I'm amazed by the fanalis' fighting power. That was incredible, even though you're so young."

Miran nodded happily; he made her proud again.

"Thank you. But you are strong, too, even though you aren't a fanalis."

 _Lenka, let's make him a household vessel. Which one's is unimportant, but you have to keep him,_ Gusion said and the woman blinked and touched the forearm protector. The female djinn was calm and composed most times but any demands she made were justified.

 _If he wants to stay with me, he will become a household vessel. Is that okay with the three of you?_

 _Finally you agreed!_ Orobas sighed. _Your head is as hard as a rock._

 _I'm sure that Lenka just wants the best for him and herself, isn't that so?_ Orias tried to calm his twin. Lenka snickered a bit then stopped as Miran stared at her with big eyes and nearly tripped over a cracking stone.

"What's so funny?"

"My djinn want to keep you," she said with a grin and shook her head. "Let's focus on the next cavern, shouldn't we?"

He nodded and stopped with terrified face as they entered the next cavern. Dead bodies lay sprawled over the marble floor, blood colored most of the gray tiles red. The air didn't smell of death, that explained why Miran hadn't catched a stench or something, but the whole scenario looked like it was part of the setting of an ancient horror movie where a vicious monster slayed more than two dozen men for fun, the ate their intestines or brains or whatever was tasty in human bodies. Lenka quickly covered her charge's eyes and hugged him.

"Dear, don't look. It's a horrible sight and I don't want you to get scared from whatever it was that did it to those poor men. Can you keep your eyes closed for a bit, can you?"

Miran whimpered and breathed through his mouth for a few seconds to calm himself.

"Yeah, I'm good. I can watch out for enemies for you."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek before stepping to the next corpse to look at him. A man, older than thirty as far as she could tell; the lower part of his body lay a few meters away. He wore a once white tunic and had a sword in the hand, a roman gladius. Maybe a soldier?

 _Gusion._

The djinn caused the blood stains on the floor to disappear so that the traveler could walk more freely through the remains of what had been a massacre. A glint awoke her curiosity so she carefully walked over to a pile that were the bodies of six men in golden armor that seemed to have protected a young man, maybe a tad older than she was. His face showed pure horror and he wore an expensive looking ring on his right hand. His left side was missing.

Lenka swallowed down her nausea and carefully pulled the ring off and wrapped it in a piece of his red-striped toga. A young nobleman, maybe sent to conquer this dungeon by Scheherazade to contribute to the Reim empire. She should tell the Magi what happened to them.

 _Orias._

She pushed the small package through the black hole that had opened in space and took a glance at the Rukh in this room – and found a small clay figurine under a pile of rubble. A proof of the perpetrators who had invaded the dungeon. The evidence followed through the hole and Lenka returned to Miran.

"We have a problem, a big problem. Agents of the organization have entered the dungeon and killed an envoy probably sent by the Magi Scheherazade that should conquer the dungeon," she told him with lowered voice. "We have to get to the treasure room before they get there or we will have an even bigger problem."

In times like this she was glad that the fanalis were a warrant type of people, Miran simply nodded and followed her quickened steps through the dungeon. The next chamber was even bigger than the first one they had entered, but high walls blocked the view to the door. Lenka simply pulled off the slightly wet scarf to fly them to the exit - and was more than surprised to see a giant maze under her hovering tool. Howls and yelps, scratching noise and steps echoed up to them.

"In times like these I'm glad to have conquered a few dungeons already, though only Gusion's was worth being called a dungeon," she told the boy as they rushed over the labyrinth. "But I bet this maze has even more booby traps than hers. I'm glad that we can speed things up like this, because I don't want to imagine what the lunatics will do with a genuine metal vessel."

Miran nodded.

"I hope this will be over soon."

* * *

Maybe the djinn of the dungeon heard their conversation, maybe her own djinn had managed to talk to him, her or it or maybe even Solomon had said something, Lenka and Miran reached the door to the necropolis after two more chambers that were surprisingly empty, except the one stray giant rat that was brought down with a single swipe of the unbreakable blade and landed on a house high enough so that she could see the treasury tower in the middle – and two persons in the formal robes of Al-Thamen plus a young man that strode forward confidently, though their clothes were quite tattered. The dungeon hadn't been that easy on them as it had been for Lenka. She gritted her teeth and touched the silver metal vessel on her arm.

"Miran, try to get away from the fight, those people are the peak of evil. Please get into the treasure room and search for an object that has the eight-pointed star, like the symbol on my metal vessels, will you?"

He patted her arm, nodded and raced over the roofs at the edge of the dead city. Lenka inhaled and equipped Gusion. The rush of power she emitted was enough for the fiends to stop and turn back to where they felt the sudden explosion of the Rukh – just to find themselves face to face with a woman with green hair, jackal ears and whiskers that brought a swipe of the spear she wielded at their borgs. The shields shattered without effort and the owl-staffed guy to her right turned to a doll which fell on the floor with a thump and rolled under an empty stall while the man drew his weapon, a battle-ax and stared at her with bloodshot eyes.

"Who are you?" he rasped and his comrade answered "This one is the false king's puppet."

Lenka grinned.

"Pot calling the kettle black, aren't you? To quote another of your puppets: 'die!'"

A hail of solid spears pierced the ground as Lenka attacked again and Mr Bloodshot raised his ax.

"Dark djinn equip!" he bellowed and black plates covered his body.

" _Homing spear!"_

Several missiles shot after the Al-Thamen puppet who started flying to get rid of them, it would take him quite long to do so she hoped. The two metal vessel users attacked each other, Lenka with furious determination, the other with a lunatic cackle, sword-lance against giant ax. Mr Bloodshot grinned like a madman.

"Die, woman."

"Die, cauliflower-eared challenged retard!"

Yes, her curses were definitely better than his, and he even understood what she was saying! He roared furiously and tried to split her in two. She dodged and floated in mid-air, weapon raised.

" _Diamond crushing!"_

The man's armor turned him into a pincushion, causing him to scream again. A tingle in the Rukh let her look up and she bared her fangs at the mage flying above her, grinning like the lunatic he was.

"Don't you miss something?" he said and pointed on a spot between two houses a few hundred meters away. Miran stood in the middle of rotating thunder- and gravity spheres, dagger in one hand and turning his head fast in every direction to look for a way to escape. Lenka's heart froze at this sight while the mage chuckled then snapped his fingers. With a loud boom the spheres exploded, the detonation ripped a hole in the necropolis's floor. A giant cloud of dust rose up and left no trace of Miran.

The girl howled in anger and grief and the Rukh chirped loud as a storm appeared around her, the floor turned into an acidic sea and parts of the buildings shot around like missiles. Failed! Failed again to protect, to keep someone safe! She had promised to keep him safe! Lenka rose as high as the dungeon was and initialized Gusion's extreme magic. The white-glowing circle was humongous, only the side where the treasury was didn't melt away as another surge of acidity from the magic flooded the empty city. The mage and the black vessel user had no chance to escape her wrath. The clone plopped into a figurine at the first contact with the acid while the vessel user screamed in terror as it started to eat away his equip and then his body.

"Scumbags," growled Lenka while her vision blurred from the tears. "Bastards. I never forgive you! Never! A second time! Heed my call, djinn of friendship and reconciles! Melt the evil from the surface of the earth, corrode the depraved stains-"

 _Err, Lenka? I've got him, Miran I mean,_ Orias said nervously. _I sent him to you, okay? Please don't cry._

She stared at the vessel in shock and surprise as a big black portal opened in front of her and Miran jumped at his protector, fresh as a daisy and nearly uninjured, almost crushing her with the power behind his hugs.

"I'm alright, Lenka. I'm fine."

The traveler blinked then squeezed the boy tighter to suppress the shaking.

"Don't do that again, you hear me? Don't scare me like that."

Miran petted her back.

"I was okay, Orias and Orobas were very friendly. They said that I should stay with you and try to convince you to let me accompany you everywhere you go! They are nice."

"I might have to scold them and you because you almost gave me an heart attack, haven't you?" she murmured then floated down to the entrance of the treasury.

It took them only a few minutes to find a big ugly pot with the emblem of Solomon. As soon as Lenka touched the weapon the djinn appeared, a mischievous small girl with braids, fairy wings, a scepter and a fluttery stole dressed in a way that strongly reminded of those clothes Pisti was wearing, moreover the djinn looked like she was a relative of Pisti!

"Hello conquerors! This is Eligos, the fifteenth djinn of Solomon! Eligos is a spirit of tactics and favors, she knows how to attract them from lords and kings! So, which one of you should Eligos make her master?"

She lowered down to grin at Miran who was hiding behind Lenka at first but gathered enough courage to smile back.

"Will it be you, boy, who will be Eligos's master?"

"I don't came here to become a master, I followed Lenka," he said and hugged her waist. Eligos eyed the blonde woman a bit longer then burst out in laughter.

"Oh! OH! You have the disaster twins!"

 _That is a part of my past I don't like when it is mentioned by someone,_ Orobas grumbled.

"That is so funny! Okay, Eligos has decided, she will go with you, blondie! If you managed the disaster twins you can manage Eligos too! Oh, this is so exiting!"

Lenka was grinning now too.

"Thank you, Eligos. My name is Lenka, Solomon's warrior and guardian of the Magi, currently heading to the capital of Reim. I'm looking forward to work with you!"

"Eligos wants the sword, you can take as much treasure as you want, as long as I can have the sword."

She forgot to talk in third person of herself, so excited was the djinn, and laughed even more as black holes swallowed every piece of treasure in the room.

"This will be a funny journey! Now shoo, back to the other world you go!"

 _Oh Solomon I forgot that she was this hyperactive,_ Gusion murmured. Lenka chuckled then sat down on the tunnel floor. Four djinn. Now it was only Sinbad who had more than her, she remembered and stretched her arms with a yawn, the sword on her hip thrummed with the heartbeat of Eligos' power. Miran settled next to her and sighed as she started to rub his back.

"That was a nice djinn."

 _Can Eligos make him household vessel?_

 _He's going to be mine!_

 _Brother, don't scream at Eligos like that, she just arrived. Hey, don't touch that unless you want it to explode!  
_

… _welcome to the nuthouse._

* * *

 **And another djinn added to Lenka's collection and another chapter that burst the words limit...**

 **Not much to say except for thank you you fabulous readers! Your support keeps me going! Thanks a lot!**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	17. Chapter 17 plus omake

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 17: Arriving in Remano, capital of Reim Empire

The city was a huge accumulation of white houses, archways and people dressed in clothes that had close similarity to the Roman toga and tunics. Children ran around playing with their friends, merchants were selling their goods and now and then soldiers would patrol the streets, talk to the citizens and guard the peace of Remano. Lenka felt the power of the Magi as soon as she and Miran passed the city gate, the Rukh were fluttering to the palace of the Highest Priest and then back into the town, as if Scheherazade was the heart of the capital, what she indeed was, yet the Coliseum was huge enough to be mistaken for the central spot in Remano. Maybe it was like the Circus Maximus or the Coliseum in Rome, reckoned the traveler, and maybe the Coliseum had looked like this back in Caesar's time. Maybe there is someone called Julius Caesar in this world, too.

The grip on her hand tightened as Miran moved closer to her, staring warily at the people around. The traveler had wrapped a piece of cloth around his head so that his red hair was covered because both of them were unsure what would happen if someone would find out that he was a fanalis. Even though the corps was the pride of the empire the woman was sure that someone might try to abduct and sell him into slavery again. And her too. Some of the males were giving her not only the awkward glance but the perverted stare as well, eve though the sword on her hip should be enough of a warning.

"There are slaves here," Miran murmured and interrupted her thinking. He was looking at a pair of male slaves in more or less dirty rugs carrying water amphorae while others were walking around, doing chores for their masters. Lenka frowned. Reim was really like the ancient Roman empire.

"Reim's society is built on the concept of slavery. Where I come from there was an empire really similar to this, about two thousand years ago. Actually there were many empires that accepted slavery, until it was officially abolished around two hundred years or so. But in some remote parts of the world, in the dark parts of society there are still slaves."

He shuddered and tugged at the headdress.

"If someone finds out that I'm a fanalis I tell them that I'm your slave. That's the safest way."

Her frown turned into a scowl at his words.

"You are not a slave, Miran. You are a free boy and should live like that, shouldn't you?"

"So where are we going to?" he changed the topic, causing her to sigh then point at the huge building in the distance.

"We go to the Coliseum to look for Shambal Ramal's gladiator school."

"Okay then, what are we waiting for?"

The two travelers needed almost twenty minutes to reach the Coliseum and twelve more to find the school grounds, even though they asked a young woman for the way. With a sigh Lenka went through the front gate and up to the young woman guarding the door, the letter from Sinbad in her hand.

"Excuse me, but aren't you Toto from the five Yambala? I came here to train _magoi_ -manipulation under the gladiator school's tutelage. Here is my letter of recommendation."

She handed the letter over to Toto who inspected the royal sealing and weighted the letter in her hand while looking at the blonde. It was not often that she met a woman who was almost as big as her.

"This letter and emblem looks genuine, but Toto wants to fight you to see how good you are."

Lenka nodded then smiled at Miran who grinned and stepped next to the gladiator.

"I will be cheering for you, Lenka. Should I hold the letter, Miss Toto?"

The traveler sighed and unsheathed Eligos's metal vessel while Toto gave the boy the scroll, grabbed her longsword and left her post to fight. Her dark eyes were mustering the curved katana blade and the other woman's stance then she nodded approvingly.

"Toto is curious now. Give your best."

The Yambala rushed forward and the two swords clinked together as Lenka parried then countered with a swipe to Toto's knee who dodged and slashed at the foreigner's head, but again the katana was there to start a complex pattern of attacks and parry's that were rewarded with a smile. Lenka was grinning too; Toto was not as great as Sharrkan – not many were – but certainly a formidable opponent and she decided to use a bit more power, more of the skills she had learned from sparring with the generals, Alibaba and Hakuryuu as he had visited the silver Scorpio tower but she would have never expected that her next attack would cut Toto's sword in half! The two women stared speechless at the two hands length that were left of the blade before the dark-haired lowered the hilt.

"Toto admits defeat. You owe me a blade, disciple."

"I'm so sorry! I try to repair it right away! Gusion!"

At the command the part that had been cut off floated upwards then connected with the sword as Gusion caused the metal to turn liquescent and then firm again. Toto's eyes widened and she touched the sword then flung it a few times before smiling at the other while Miran jumped at his protector.

"As good as new. How did you do that?"

"Lenka conquered four dungeons, and Gusion did that!" Miran informed the Yambala who gasped for air.

"You – four? Impossible!"

"Your reaction is so cute, but I really conquered four dungeons. That is why I have to improve my _magoi_ -manipulation, so can I speak with Shambal Ramal please?"

Toto blinked then shook like a wet dog.

"Of course you-" she stopped and frowned. "Actually he is not here at the moment."

"When will he return?" Lenka asked. She was getting a bad feeling about this.

"Toto is not sure," the woman admitted while looking really uncomfortable. "I don't know where he is, probably in a casino."

"Should we look for him? I think I can sniff him out if you give me some of his clothes or something like that," Miran offered with a wide smile. The gladiator looked at him in surprise.

"You are a fanalis. Can you do that? You would be a big help for Toto. You two, follow me."

Toto led them into the master's room where Miran took a quick sniff at the pillow, sneezed then took a sash the gladiator handed him - "Toto has found laundry!" "Urgh..." "Miran, your face is green! A bucket! A bucket!"- before grabbing a set of clean clothes and so the three wandered through the amusement quarter into seven different casinos before finding the one where the smell was the strongest; the gladiator simply waltzed over the doorman to get into the building after the boy told her that this was the right one. Lenka scanned the main room for the gambling desks then followed Miran who had pressed the sash to his nose to get another sniff.

"He's here, really close, but the smell of food is distracting me."

Toto affectionately patted his head while her eyes darted around.

"You did a good job. Toto wonders where Master is..."

"Hey, that is my Miran you're patting, you can't have him," Lenka joked and the boy gave her an adorable smile before grinning at Toto.

"I belong to Lenka," he declared happily.

 _I WANNA MAKE HIM HOUSEHOLDDDDD!_

 _Guys? Have you trained to shout that in unison, have you?_

A sudden commotion caused them to look at two guards who were pushing a man away from the gambling area. Toto groaned and shoved her way trough the spectators but it was Miran who was a tad faster at the man who was lying on his stomach.

"Are you alright? Your clothes..."

Shambal Ramal stood up and smiled down at the boy whose expression turned blank.

"I'm fine, young one, but aren't you a bit too young for this kind of-"

"Lord Jesus fucking Christ put some clothes on!" Lenka yelled and quickly replaced her charge's field of vision with a close-up of her cleavage while covering her own eyes as well.

 _Old man's hairy balls... Eligos is scarred for life and afterlife and her next life after rebirth too,_ the djinn whined.

 _That makes three of us, Elly,_ Lenka agreed while peeking down at Miran's face in her shirt which had an unhealthy white.

 _Four,_ said Orobas with a face one could simply describe as totally scarred. Orias's right eye twitched as he added himself to the list.

 _Five._

… _six. When I appointed for this job no one told me that I had to deal with perverts and to look at-_

 _AAAAAAAHHH DON'T SAY ANY MORE!_ Lenka and the twins screamed while Eligos continued to whimper _The picture, the picture, these are not real, pink elephants, green elephants, blue elephants_. _Yellow crocodile, orange crocodile, skyblue giraffe, checkered llama._

"Toto has covered master, you can look again."

"Toto if this is a joke _I_ sexually harass _you_ ," the dungeon capturer warned then carefully peeked through her fingers. "You are really lucky."

Shambal grinned and cleared his throat.

"If you excuse me now, I have to bet everything I've got left now."

"Master!" yelped Toto as he tried to get back to the table but Lenka touched his arm.

"Shall I try for you? I have good luck."

And money, was the unspoken addition. One of the gamblers laughed.

"Come, Ramal, don't be so desperate, let the girl test her luck."

"Tell me when I've won your things back," she whispered to the old gladiator and took place at the table. "All I have to do is to throw the dice, haven't I? The one with the highest number will win?"

The gamblers nodded.

"Your input, missy."

Lenka grinned and gave her purse filled with Sindrian gold coins to the game master.

"Please change that. Every coin."

The pile of gold bars was huge and the gambler's eyes almost fell out at the sight. Unsure what to do with them she inspected the sticks she had been given. Maybe it was a bit too bold to change everything, she could have bought a small house with that, but the knowledge that she had not only Eligos's and Orias's treasure but Gusion's as well in the space pocket was more than assuring.

 _You had to bury most of mine in the desert near Qishan,_ grumbled Orobas.

 _I could never carried this much! Way too heavy!_

The first man threw the dice, glanced at the stick-like pieces in his hand and nodded then passed the tiles to the next gambler.

"What the?"

Not only the second, but the third and fourth gambler threw the same score as the first and Lenka was seriously confused as she threw the dice.

"The Missy wins," Shambal declared who had peeked over her shoulder. One of the men jumped up, apparently angry.

"The dice are forged!"

Lenka blinked innocently and threw them again and a third and fourth time before grinning at the game master.

"Do you have to tell me something?"

"Forgery! Burn the casino down! Everyone, get your things back! These guys are robbers!"

"Oh yeah," she grinned at Shambal, Toto and Miran. "That's how I do things."

 _Thanks, Orias. Your illusions are really handy._

 _Don't make me do this again or you will seriously make us fall into depravity._

 _But it worked well, didn't it?_

 _Oh Lord Solomon, please forgive my betrayal,_ Orias groaned and buried his face in his hands.

* * *

"... and then I got my input back," Shambal laughed and clapped his hands. The other masked members of the five Yambala nodded, sighed or leaned back to not get their clothes dirty as the master stabbed his dinner. Lenka felt a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she watched their interaction. She and Miran were invited to dinner after the angered customers had turned the casino into a mediocre battlefield, Shambal got his clothes and money back and another overjoyed man had given her the key to a house as thank-you gift for saving his wealth. Apparently they had _really_ busted an underground criminal organization dealing with the housing price and thus resulted in her having a house in Remano now. Lady Luck was a genius.

"The food is really tasty, Miss Toto," Miran thanked the gladiator who brightened at the boy's words. Lenka ruffled his hair.

"I know that I can't cook anything other than soup, dear."

"Lenka can do five types of soup. Plain, salty, with meat, good and burnt, and you never know which you'll get," he snickered while Toto gave him a second helping. Her cooking was really good she agreed with Miran.

"So, Missy, what are your plans?" Shambal asked the traveler. "The letter mentioned that you have conquered dungeons, as in more than one..."

"That's true. I've conquered four dungeons but only mastered two djinn, Orobas and Gusion."

The masked Yambala gasped in surprise but Shambal simply nodded while Lenka continued her explanation.

"I've been experimenting with my _magoi_ and the equips but it would be better to learn _magoi_ -manipulation from someone who has actually mastered it so King Sinbad suggested that I should attend this gladiator school and improve my fighting as well."

"Toto thinks that Lenka is good enough. Maybe a bit too strong. She broke my sword," the gladiator told the men then looked at the other woman. "Have you fanalis blood?"

She shook her head and placed her spoon next to the plate. Question time start.

"Not a single drop at all. It has to be my overflowing _magoi_ that makes me so strong."

"Lenka simply is amazing," Miran said and clambered up his guardian's lap. "She can sink pirate ships with a wave and melt entire underground cities and bad guys with a single attack. She is a good person."

"Melting cities is not an indicator of being a good person," she said but the scolding effect was lessened of the fact that she was smiling and hugging the boy while Shambal folded his hands with a slight frown. He wasn't thinking of melting cities being a trait of a good person, too.

"Sinbad wrote about a certain benefactor..."

"You mean the Rukh?"

"He mentioned the Magi of Kou."

She raised a brow to express her surprise. That scheming...

"Oh. Surely he would mention Judar. They have history after all. Judar bribed me with a dungeon I couldn't turn down and Sinbad was really mad afterwards, even though he has djinn of that Magi as well. He's a bit crazy in the way he acts and seems to like me."

 _You can call it totally mad and completely insane and I remember other things, but well- okay, okay don't mentally pinch me, that hurts,_ Orobas complained but Shambal seemed contended with her answer and nodded yet Miran was the one who looked up and said:

"Is Judar the 'lunatic perverted girly Magi brat'? Orobas told me about him. He said whenever I meet him I should glare at him to keep him at least six feet away from you so that he won't do perverted things to you."

Lenka suddenly felt the strong urge to hit her djinn and the spoon she was holding made a cracking noise while Toto choked on her drink and the men started to grin. Or at least their Rukh told her that they were amused by the small fanalis's words. Stupid masks. Shambal was definitely wriggling his eyebrows. Lenka sighed in defeat.

"... he is. Damn that chatty djinn."

 _You are so dead._

Eligos reached Gusion a cookie while murmuring something about unfair bets and she hadn't been there and not knowing their queen for long or else she would have known not to bet against the other female djinn. Miran seemed completely unaffected by the awkward situation he had created.

"I wasn't really sure what he meant with 'perverted' so I asked Orias,"

"Oh Solomon," Lenka murmured,

"and he said that that was doing something you shouldn't do in public, only married couples and betrothed ones in the safety of their sleeping chambers."

 _Orias, come here so I can give you a big smooch. You deserved it._

 _It's no big deal,_ the djinn said and blushed.

"And Orobas said I should glare at 'perverted stupid king' as well because he is clearly the worst. Actually I should glare at every man that comes closer than four feet.

Miss Toto, can I please have another piece of bread?"

Lenka thanked God, Allah, Buddha, Solomon, Vishnu and whoever might hear her prayer that the gladiator was there to give her charge more food to stop his embarrassing flood of information. She gave the others an apologetic look, shrugged then said with a grin "I really don't need enemies with friends like that, right?"

Whereupon everyone started laughing like crazy.

* * *

The sword was a bit less heavy than her unbreakable katana but not as light as the saber she had when doing the pervert equip. Nevertheless she was sure she could fight with it, land hits and win. Shambal nodded approvingly at Lenka's movements with the curved blade the gladiator school had lent the blonde because metal vessels were forbidden in the arena.

"I am sure you will win your battle," he said and patted her shoulder as she stopped her exercise to drink something. Lenka nodded and hummed in agree, even though the thought of fighting without the extra weight of her metal vessels made her stomach churn. She felt somehow naked and powerless, not a nice feeling.

Miran jumped over to her, the necklace, biceps rings, forearm protector and sword in his arms, Toto following him. The boy's smile was confident.

"You will win, Lenka. I watch your djinn, so don't worry about them. The armor you found in the space fits you."

She chuckled and ruffled his hair while Toto patted her shoulder.

"He's right, the match will be child's play for you. It's good that you had your own armor because Toto was unsure if her spare would fit you."

Lenka sighed and looked down. She was unable to see her feet after conquering Orias's dungeon and she had the feeling that she was almost certainly an F-cup now. Damn the good food they had in this world. Buying bras that would fit was going to be hell. She looked like a Valkyrie with her blond hair and gray eyes and the spiky sandals.

Shambal cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"The match will be a battle of ten gladiators, a melee. You are the only woman, but every fighting style is allowed, not only sword-fighting. There will be trident users, some who use daggers, spears and so on, so your combination of sword and shield is the best for beginners."

"I swear, if I don't get out there alive I will haunt you to. Your. Death."

The old gladiator laughed, patted her back then nodded at Miran.

"Toto will bring you to the prep room under the arena while we'll go and take our seats, right, young one?"

"Yes, Grandpa Shambal," Miran said – he had gotten the permission to call the master Grandpa – then gave Lenka a quick hug so that she could touch her metal vessels a last time before the fight.

 _Grind them to dust, Lenka! They are nothing compared to the things we've defeated until now._

… _if your sword is broken, use a spear._

 _You have the best training one could have, Lenka, you will surely win._

 _Eligos expects a huge celebration,_ the djinn chirped causing her to smile. Those guys might be an odd group, but they were _her_ djinn.

 _Thanks, guys. I plan on not dying and coming back almost unscathed._

One last squeeze for Miran and she followed Toto to the gate through which the gladiators entered the arena, then a stone staircase down trough a underground dungeon. Dungeon. Lenka chuckled at the thought and shook her head as the other gave her a puzzled look.

"It's nothing."

They passed a hall then entered a round chamber in which other gladiators were waiting. They seemed to recognize Toto, waved or nodded in her direction as the two women walked across the room to another staircase, this time the one leading upwards.

"This way leads to the arena. If you won your fight you go back through the gate and down here. We'll come to pick you up."

The traveler nodded; her body was shaking in excitement and anticipation. She was so nervous that the nausea she felt was as worse as her sea-sickness. Toto recognized this feeling and patted her shoulder.

"Don't worry, both Toto and Master are sure that you'll win. Just fight the way you're always fighting."

"I'm always using djinn equip, except when sparring with others," Lenka said with muffled voice then tried to breathe slowly to calm herself. The noise the spectators were making grew louder with every step closer to the gate to the arena where Toto stopped to pat her a last time.

"Toto will go now. They will open the gate to let you out soon. I wish you well."

"Yeah. Bye."

Her heart was beating so fast and loud that she was almost unable to hear her friend's footsteps; the cheering did the rest. Lenka glanced through the iron bars outside: the coliseum was near being full, a huge part of the city's population had come to watch the fight. She wrapped her arms around herself to draw comfort from her djinn then sighed at her idiocy. The metal vessels were with Miran. She had to win this fight on her own. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. A fight in which she could use her own power, own abilities to the fullest, not borrowing others to win. Might be a very interesting one as well as dangerous, but wasn't everything she had done until now dangerous? She wasn't exactly on enemy territory but not on a friend's either. Everything was a battle, no, rather a game, and she had to win the game to fulfill her oath given to Solomon. Which way was not important, the only thing that mattered was that she won without falling into depravity or dying. Simple, and yet so incredibly difficult.

As the gate opened Lenka's conscience was calm, her steps confident. This was just another step to her to fulfill her goal. The crowd was cheering while the announcer screamed something and the second entrance to the arena opened. Her enemies were stepping out the shadows and Lenka drew her lent sword. The tip was drawing small circles in the air, her hand was shaking in... excitement? Blood-lust? Anticipation? Certainly not fear. Probably all three of them. She stared at the men on the other side of the arena who were standing in a group together, searching for the weakest, the prey, first with her normal vision, then looked at their Rukh.

A grin appeared on her face. So was that? A conspiracy? They were working together to after hearing that she was a female? Had they had gang-bang parties in ancient Rome as well? Failure was out of the question. She would defeat them all, knock them out the fastest and least painful way.

"Start!"

* * *

Miran gripped the metal vessels tighter as he saw Lenka charging the group. It took her only a few steps to cross the arena, her speed was incredible. It was unbelievable that she had not at least a bit of fanalis blood in her, she was too fast and too strong. Her first slash cut through the wooden part of a trident one was holding before she jumped ten meters back to attack a second man. Her enemies tried to encircle her but Lenka jumped up, high enough to land on the tip of the spear of one of the statues that were decorating the sandy ground. The grin on her face was feral.

"Hooh, she's quite nimble," Shambal said with a nod as the blonde seemed to disappear for a second then re-appeared behind one of the male gladiators who screamed in pain and fell down; she had cut the tendons in his knees. The crowd ooh-ed and cheered, then demanded death for the injured gladiator. Miran felt simply disgusted by this people. Yes, they were appreciating a good fight, but pointless killing was something else.

"The first one is down!" Toto said. "She is good."

The small fanalis continued to watch how his guardian took down a second gladiator by hitting the back of his head with the hilt of her sword. Yes, Lenka was good, but somehow she seemed a bit off her normal fighting style.

* * *

Blood spluttered as she cut the next gladiators arms four, six, eight times, too fast for him to see the slashes. He fell on his knees, grunting in pain and surprise. Four, six slashes to his legs and he was unable to walk away. Three down, six more to go. Lenka was ecstatic. This was fun! So much fun! Her life was on the line, she was constantly balancing on the edge of getting hurt and dodging the attacks. Speed, speed, talent and power, that was the magic formula that held her alive.

The rush stopped as her blade shattered at the shield of one of her enemies. The crowd groaned and screamed as if they were a living animal. Lenka jumped back with a low hiss and looked at the broken hilt in confusion. Seemed like she was unable to do sword-fighting unless she used the unbreakable katana, Eligos's metal vessel, but now she had no weapon!

 _Calm down and analyze the situation,_ she told herself while continuing to watch the gladiators. Even Alibaba managed to fight a black djinn with a broken sword, if he could do that she would survive as well. She had made a grave mistake, she rushed into the fight again. That was what Sharrkan had told her again and again... Suddenly she remembered the man's household vessel, the lightning whip and a second later Orias weapon. If she could do something similar with her _magoi_...

Lenka concentrated on the piece of metal in her hand, imagined how the magic power would flow out of her, form the sword anew and grow into a long whip.

"Nice, my version a circus director" she grinned and snapped her new weapon before attacking the idiot that broke her sword. A sharp, overwhelming pain in her right arm caused her to drop the weapon, blood streamed down her hand. A gladiator had thrown his dagger with almost surgical precision and hit her forearm, cut the tendon and pierced the limb. She screamed, grabbed the slippery hilt and instantly pulled the weapon out, black dots danced through her field of vision.

 _Don't pass out, don't pass out, no matter how much it hurts, don't pass out. Oh, that hurt like a bitch._

Her stomach revolted when she dropped the knife in the sand, the almost white ground turned red, the noise blurred as her heartbeat grew louder, chirping replaced cheering. The hole in her arm stopped bleeding as the Rukh answered her subconscious wish to numb the pain and fed her a bit of energy. Lenka inhaled deeply then screamed, her anger, pain and revived blood-thirst a challenge to the remaining gladiators.

"You fucktards are so bloody dead," she growled while the floor was cracking under her soles as she bent her knees and changed the foot carrying her weight to gather her strength for a dash forward. Now they were looking at her in fear and she attacked them without mercy, her kicks and punches strengthened through the power of the Rukh and her _magoi_. Shields shattered, swords broke like twigs, bones were cracking under her soles, the screams and groans of the gladiators and the cheering of the spectators was a buzzing noise in the back of her head. She concentrated on the flow of the power inside her, around her and reacted with their movements. _Magoi_ , Rukh, Lenka, all of them were one. She was a part of them and they had become a part of her. They would never separate again.

She landed on almost the same spot where she had started her match, her last opponent dropped in the sand like a bag of rice. The crowd was on edge now, standing on their seats, cheering and waving and celebrating her win the way she would never do. Lenka pushed her fist up, nodded to the spectators then left through the gate.

* * *

Miran jumped at her as soon as she had entered the round hall under the arena, Toto and Shambal following the boy.

"You did it, Lenka! You won!"

She smiled exhausted and ruffled his hair then started to put on the metal vessels. As soon as she wasn't wearing Gusion she got hit where the metal usually was. Great.

"Orias, my bag please."

 _Of course, my queen._

 _That was an interesting fight, dearest._

 _Eligos knew you would win!_

… _well done._

Shambal helped her to treat the wound. The Rukh had stopped the bleeding and probably sped up the healing a bit yet the hole in her arm was very unsightly. The Yambala patted her shoulder.

"Missy, you have graduated my school with this fight. I can't teach you."

Lenka blinked surprised.

"Pardon me? I haven't even started attending the lessons, haven't I?"

He scratched his white beard and smiled.

"Well, no, but your manipulation and usage of your _magoi_ was something I've never seen before. You have the basics and the finishing done as well as developed your own style. I'm proud to know you, Lenka."

"Err, thank you? Very much?"

Miran hugged her again.

"That's great!"

She wasn't really sure if that was so great. She had hoped to kill some time with the training before going to Kou, but now? Waste of time? No, she had to talk with Scheherazade and give her the letter Sinbad had entrusted her with. And the thing she had found in the dungeon Eligos.

"Toto will continue to spar with you, if you have the time."

Lenka smiled at the other woman. No, she would stay in Reim for the time being.

"Thanks, Toto. Is there a room where I can change my clothes? I don't want to go outside in a bloodstained armour."

Toto led her to a door further down in the hall then returned while Lenka opened the hole in space and changed into the clothes she liked most, the blue short top and the gray pants plus the flying scarf and vest. Best combination ever. With the soft hum of her metal vessels on her body she touched the handle to leave when someone knocked. She frowned and opened.

"Toto? Oh,... sorry."

"Can I have a word with you?" asked Muu Alexius.

* * *

 **A cliffhanger! Haven't done that in ages... sorry... Yeah anyway, I got a request about the disaster twins reference in the last chapter and I wrote a little omake from Alma Toran. As always, everything I made up belongs to me, the bigger part to the rightful author Ohtaka-sensei. You surely know which is which ;) Enjoy!**

One disaster is never enough.

Volcanic eruptions. Flooding. Earthquakes. Firestorms. Droughts. Hailstorms. Blizzards. All of those were disasters that ended lives. So why had the added twins to the list? Or, to be precise, being born as younger twin? Shouldn't they think that it was a blessing to the clan, a sign that it would prosper and grow strong? Apparently not.

Orias was sure that this belief was the only thing that brought the different clans of his mother and father together as they, their leaders, fell in love with each other. His mother's tribe, Chaarezhi, were one of the nomadic hunting races out in the big plains while his father's, the Virkrall, were a culture that invented a lot of things, a way to measure time by watching the sun and the lunar cycle, a way to harvest more efficiently – in short, the two tribes had no similarities, except that all had two arms and two legs, two eyes, a nose and only one mouth, lips and hair, five fingers and were mammals. If he thought longer about this he would find a lot more that was similar, but the differences...

Chaarezhi had slanted eyes that looked a bit lupine, long claws and sharp teeth with six canines to catch their prey out in the grasslands, bushy hair and a natural striped pattern in it. Their skin was darkish brown to toffee, their irises yellow or orange and the males were sometimes twice as big as the females which were easily reaching seven foot. Still they had the authority inside the clan and chose their mates for themselves, whereas Vikrall were smaller, possessed long, curved horns like the Minotaurs but smaller in rich browns or black, often decorated with bells, ribbons or chains, light hair and a lithe frame, perfect for studying all kinds of stuff, arithmetic, geometric, whatever way it was, as long as you could make it so complicated that only the hermit tribe could understand what was written on the scrolls.

Unluckily the tribes had to share the grasslands as the Chaarezhi often moved through Vikrall territory.

So the equation that explained the following disaster was warrior princess from the Chareezhi plus Vikrall lord times sexual tension during mating season equals the princess getting pregnant. A disaster for the elders of both races, but they soon agreed that a chimera, as they said, would craft a bond that should unite the two tribes. Too bad the princess gave birth to two boys. Disaster times never ending disaster. That was what they thought of him.

The hour he was born a lightning bolt struck the earth and caused the grassland to catch fire. When he was five another race attacked the two clans. When he was fifteen the tower was destroyed. Which was good, but the rubble hit the city. But who was to blame? The disaster-causing twins.

Luckily the Vikrall were not as extreme in the termination of the younger twin – he was still referred to as the disasterbringer, chimera, failure, but that was still a better deal than to get a close look at his intestines. And the elders started to cooperate as he took over the clan and Orobas started to lead the Chareezhi and they both received a staff from Solomon. But everything was going so slow, slow, slow.

The cheering of the crowd ripped him out of his thoughts.

"All hail King Solomon!"

"King Solomon!"

Orias saluted together with the other seventy-one staff-wielders as the king stepped onto the balcony, Magi Sheba, Arba and Ugo were beside him, smiling and waving at the people that had gathered to praise Solomon. Orobas grinned wide, his bronze-colored skin was minimally darker than his own and his eyes were golden, not silver like Orias'. Both were small for Chareezhi and giants for the Vikrall as they were muscular but only eight feet tall, their horns had a rich brown color and were adorned with chains in gold and silver. Twins. Mixes. Failures. Disaster.

Orobas was infamous for accidentally destroying thing, like the flowers Zagan had created last Wednesday, or the week before when he burned the scroll Amon and Dantalion were copying from Magi Ugo. Good-looking as he was he had managed to flirt with every female in Focalor's harem, much to the anger of the other tribe leader, hit on Phenex – which led to Orias removing his brother immediately with a lot of excuses and bowing – and there were rumors ghosting around about a triangle with Paimon and Foras, courtesy of Eligos.

Orobas absolutely adored Sheba since he met her first to the point where he wanted to follow her everywhere, do absolutely anything for the Magi only to cause another disaster on his path, especially when he tried to help someone. Orias wanted to smack his brother's head again when he remembered him helping Baal to look for a collar for Valefor. In the end they tried to knit one in pink. Holy God that thing had been awful.

He wanted Zepar to sing for them to see if the rumors were really true and borrowed Cimeies' amp power, which led to the whole palace to fall asleep. And Orias wanted to kill him when Orobas told Dantalion that his younger twin was interested in her, which led to more disaster as the female confused the twins when she saw Orobas flirting with Foras. Since that day he was constantly on the run when he saw her, much to the amusement of the other djinn, especially Eligos. The leader of the Fae tribe was one of the few who thought that this was absolutely and utterly funny and teased him every time she found him hiding in a corner or in the library of the palace.

"This is great, isn't it? Finally we can live peacefully."

His older brother, so joyful and bright where he was reserved and calm. Light based heat magic and power based space magic. Sun and Moon. Two sides of the coin. A symbol of peace between two tribes. And what were those tribes thinking of them? Disasters. Monster. Filthy. Even though they were their leaders. But they were strong, witty and of noble birth, so they were at least tolerated as leaders, even though not liked as much as others, but maybe respected after gaining the trust of King Solomon.

Orias was glad that he could stay with the king, work with his dimensional theory, Magi Ugo and Dantalion, his brother, the friends he had made here to create the better world, a world where he wasn't referred to as one of the disaster-twins. A perfect world. Paradise.

"I hope you're right."

* * *

 **As always, thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited and followed, and now I've got some explaining to do for Nemeria as you pointed out several crucial things *bows to thank you***

 **Lenka overpowered? Absolutely. Why? I add an extra next time to explain this further, but it was Solomon's doing. And I like her this strong, there will be a time when she needs this power.**

 **Interaction with other characters: she has this Sinbad-ish leader-charisma from her mother plus the good upbringing – which I agree was a bit too much of Mary-Sue – but the mental strains that comes with the pressure to be the best and always perfect more than compensates that. Still there are some with which she has a harder time socializing and after the incidents in chapter 14 Sinbad isn't very fond of her anymore to put it nicely :D**

 **Djinn treating Miran as pet: djinn are strange and they're having a contest who will make him become an household member and to convince Lenka to let him stay with her as she is still hoping to return to London one day. But I think this chapter shows that they are very fond of him ;)**

 **So thanks for filling my hours of writer's block with thinking and the creation of extra chapters! Feel free to contact me when you have more requests or questions!**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	18. Chapter 18 plus omake

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 18: Meeting the fanalis corps

"Can I have a word with you?"

Lenka blinked at Muu Alexius then nodded.

"Sure you can."

Was it okay for them to go back into the room? Maybe that would be a bit too … er, whatever for her taste and cause rumors. Wait, why was she thinking about such things? Now that was...

"... awkward."

"Excuse me, what?" Muu asked with an innocent smile and she felt the strong urge to head-butt the doorframe.

"Sorry, can we please talk outside? I don't want to stir something if we go in the room together."

"Sure, it's not that big of a question anyways. I saw your fight, it was amazing. Are you partly fanalis?"

"No, I'm not, and by the way, what's your name? I can tell that you're a fanalis, aren't you?"

Of course she knew who he was but it was part of the role she had to play, just part of the role. Heck, she had forgotten to thank him for the compliment.

 _Are you actually nervous?_ Orobas asked and the blonde flinched inwardly.

 _Hell, no._

 _Meh..._

"Oh, sorry, my bad. I'm Muu Alexius, captain of the fanalis corps," he introduced himself with a bow. Lenka didn't knew much about him, just the name, title, djinn and that he was absolutely loyal to the empire and Scheherazade, but it was really nice that he was polite, not like other male dungeon capturers she met until now... at least he was wearing clothes.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Lenka, the traveller from far away. So the question or questions you wanted to ask..."

Muu seemed a bit surprised that she didn't freak out over him for a second then smiled again.

"I just wanted to ask if you are a relative of a fanalis because you were so strong, but you said you weren't, didn't you? Mind if I ask why you are so strong?"

She seemed to confuse him quite a lot and that was actually funny, so she started to smile as well.

"I believe it's a Rukh-thing. They are quite fond of me. Why do you want to know why?"

Such a cute smile as his should be forbidden. Lenka frowned. Did she just think that his smile was cute? What in Solomon's name was wrong with her now?

"Well, I'm still recruiting people for the fanalis corps and your fighting was not bad, actually it was really good, even though I'm sure I was your first time as a gladiator, right?"

"Probably my last time as well, I don't like the vibes the crowd gives me. I don't kill for fun."

Muu nodded approvingly.

"That's good, I mean, that you don't kill unnecessarily. So, do you want to join the corps?"

"I'm not a fanalis, so the answer is no," she said bluntly then added "but I know someone who might. If you would please follow me."

Lenka led him back to where Shambal, Toto and Miran were waiting. Her charge eyed Muu with a poker-face while the man greeted the Yambala friendly, moved closer then grabbed her hand.

"Lenka, who is he? He smells a bit like me and my family and his eyes are familiar, too."

Muu turned to the boy and smiled.

"I'm Muu Alexius, captain of the Reim fanalis corps."

The boy's jaw dropped and his eyes started to sparkle, then he tugged at the traveler's hand.

"Is he the fanalis dungeon capturer you told me about? I never thought we would meet another one this fast!"

Then he remembered his manners and bowed.

"I'm Miran, nice to meet you. Have you seen the fight? Lenka won because she is really strong!"

Muu's smile turned into a grin.

"I did, Her sword-fighting was superb, I think I'm going to loose my title as greatest fighter if she continues as gladiator."

"Okay, enough of your flattery," Lenka interrupted as Toto opened her mouth to join the conversation but the boy nodded serious.

"Of course her fighting is amazing, even though she even hadn't- ah, taboo," he blinked and covered his mouth. The blonde sighed as Muu looked confused at her then pointed on the sword metal vessel.

"Dungeon capturer but that's no the point. I wanted you to meet Miran. I picked him up in Aktia-"

"She rescued me from a slave auction," he chirped and hugged her waist.

"And brought him with me because I heard that in Reim are many fanalis families."

Muu blinked and his hand wandered to the hilt of his sword.

"You're a dungeon capturer. From which country?"

 _Oh, why is this every other capturer's reaction?_

"England."

That had to be said just once and their stunned faces were absolutely amusing.

"Like I said, it's far away, maybe too far away for me to return."

Sympathy appeared in his eyes but his hand was still firmly tightened around his metal vessel.

"I see. Are you allied with someone?"

"I try to stay neutral, but I've made friends with royals from Kou and King Sinbad yet it's the Rukh that guide me. They want me to meet every Magi and to offer them my help. You can think of me as an ally, captain Muu."

Finally he relaxed and grinned again.

"So will you two show up at the corps's training tomorrow?"

"Sorry to interrupt you two, but we've to go to supervise the gladiator school," Shambal said with a smirk and Toto added "Why don't you go and search for the house you've won? He smells similar to a monkey boss," she told Lenka in a lowered voice. The blonde raised a brow while Muu asked surprised "You've won a house?"

"Good bye! Have fun!"

 _And so they left you with this guy you find attractive. I wonder why,_ Gusion mused.

 _I don't find him attractive._

 _You doooo,_ Eligos giggled. Lenka sighed and pulled a scrap of parchment out of her pocket then showed the man the address.

"I won this house. Can you please guide Miran and me there?"

He nodded then asked with a grin "Will you tell me how you managed that?"

"Well, you see..."

* * *

Lenka told him the story while walking through Remano towards the house. Muu was pleasant company and a good listener and her djinn were silent, a good sign, even though Miran glared sometimes at him when he thought that the man was too close to his guardian. They stopped in front of a rather small, two-stored house built from white stones in a busy quarter of the city, close to the big market place, the forum, a park and the coliseum.

After they parted from Muu the two travelers entered the house. Miran squealed happily and raced forward to inspect the living room, the kitchen, a study and the second floor while Lenka took her time to look into every cupboard and shelf. Of course they had no canned peaches! After this shock she grabbed the boy and dragged him out for groceries shopping to the market where they were surrounded by noise, people and foreign scents. Sometimes the passersby would stop and stare at them to wonder if the tall blonde was the mother of the scrawny fanalis boy that was jumping around then call themselves idiots; she was way too young to have children. Others eyed the sword and jewelry she was wearing so openly; she would subconsciously touch either the biceps rings, the forearm protector then something hidden under the scarf or thrum on the hilt of the curved blade on her hip as if she wanted to make sure that they were still there.

Lenka bought enough bread, fruit, vegetables, cheese and some dried meat and fish to last for a few days then started cooking when she returned to the house. Or so she hoped. With Miran's help she managed to make good soup with fish and toast with cheese and some kind of tomatoes and salad. Apparently she had to eat a lot more to maintain her _magoi_ supply even though the side effects – weight gain and growth spurts in every direction – were not really acceptable and Miran was still growing so the groceries were disappearing fast. She might have to go shopping the day after tomorrow again, but it was not as if money was a problem – she could almost buy a palace with the treasure from three dungeons and a fourth hidden in the desert.

Lenka fell asleep after a bath and a chat with her djinn and was woken up way too early for her taste by her charge and her sore muscles. A real fight without metal vessels was a bit more straining than sparring. And that Miran was hopping on her made it worse.

"Good morning, get up, we're training with the fanalis corps today!"

"Gimme five minutes, lad."

"When are five minutes over? Come on, you can't sleep now!"

With a loud groan she rolled out of bed and fell on the floor to lay there, tangled with the blanket and absolutely not in the mood to make breakfast.

 _Good morning, Lenka. What a wonderful day it is,_ Orobas snickered.

"Shuddup, git. Clothes, please."

Orias dropped her shorts, the stockings-shoes-pants-fusion and a sleeveless top on her.

 _Oops, sorry._

"Lenka, I brought breakfast!"

She lifted the shorts from her face to blink in the sunlight and at the plate with buttered bread and fruit Miran held out then sat up to stretch her arms.

"Thanks. Did you make this by yourself?"

"Most of it, Mr Muu helped me cutting the veggies."

"Aha. Wait, he's here?!" Lenka screamed and jumped up to start dressing while Miran looked at her in mild confusion.

"Of course he's here, didn't I tell you? He said he would pick us up around nine and now it's nine."

 _Actually it's quarter past eight but never mind,_ Orias corrected. _Your shirt is inside out._

"Damn. Miran, tell him to wait a bit more and check his watch. I'll come down when I'm dressed."

"Okay," he answered and rolled his eyes. Lenka was so strange sometimes, being almost naked or in her nightwear around him didn't bother her the slightest, but now... must be an adult thing. Adults were weird.

 _Well, that is going to be funny,_ Gusion commented as the boy rumbled downstairs. She could hear the high voice say something then a man laughing. The traveler grumbled in agree while wriggling into her shoes then used her fingers to comb her hair and tie them up in a high ponytail.

 _As long as he won't hit on Lenka..._

 _Geez, Eligos thinks that Orobas is overcautious and wussy._

 _Hey!_

 _Not this early in the morning, guys, I'm not really awake yet,_ Lenka scolded and picked up the plate Miran had left for her and went downstairs. The two fanalis sitting at the table looked up when she entered the living room/kitchen combination to take her seat to eat her breakfast. Muu smiled at her.

"Miran told me how you blew up pirate ships on your journey."

"He's exaggerating," Lenka said and ruffled her charge's hair then gave the man an apologetic grin.

"Sorry for the wait, but didn't you say you were coming at nine?"

"Oh? I thought I'd said that we're meeting the others at nine, didn't I?"

"Then I must have misheard something. It was an exhausting yesterday for me, wasn't it?" she replied and filled a cup with water.

"How's your wound, Lenka?" Miran asked and poked the forearm protector under which a white bandage was visible.

"All healed up, it wasn't that much of an injury."

The boy frowned at her while Muu raised a brow.

"It did look like the dagger pierced through your arm, though."

"Yeah, okay, you're right, it did but I'm alright now. I was kind of creepy how fast everything grew back," Lenka admitted then stood up to pack a bag with food and drinks.

 _You don't like to show others your weaknesses,_ Orias stated.

 _Except Aladdin and the others you trust, like us,_ Orobas added. _That's cute._

 _Don't make me blush, dears,_ smiled Lenka and gripped the pendant through the scarf then returned to the others.

"Okay, boys, shall we go?"

Miran instantly jumped from his chair while Muu started to smile at her before standing up. The metal plates of his armor clinked together and she was again impressed just how big fanalis were, like in, really big, wrestler-esque with all those muscle, but in a good way. And he had nice features, looked like a warrant prince. The piercing suited him. As did his long red hair, almost a mane. From an artistic viewpoint. Only from an aesthetic perspective. Why did she had to justify her thoughts?

"Is there something on my face?"

Lenka wanted to hit her head against the doorframe. Again.

"Sorry, I didn't notice that I was going screen-saver. I'm not really awake yet, so that's why I was spacing out."

And she had done it again, confuse an innocent with her terminology. Applause for Lenka! She needed a hole to bury herself. Luckily Muu didn't mind her weirdness and held the door open as she followed Miran outside. The walk to the corps' training grounds was rather quiet, even more when Miran started to get shy and took her hand for protection and assistance as they came closer to the palace and the army headquarters.

"Don't worry, even though they might seem to be quite frightening they're a really good bunch," Muu said with a big grin and greeted some soldiers that passed by. They seemed absolutely overjoyed to get a wave by him. The foreigner chuckled at the boy's frown and massaged the back of his hand.

"And it's not like I wouldn't be there to watch, right?"

"Right," he said after inhaling deeply. "You're strong enough to squat everyone flat who is not nice. That's reassuring!"

"I don't think she needs to do so," Muu grinned and led them through some wooden buildings to a large sandy square where around two dozen armored red-haired individuals were fighting, standing and chatting or watching the fighters. Upon their captain's entrance a few fanalis waved, noticed the visitors then followed a young woman with long read hair who walked over first. Myron Alexius nudged her brother's arm then smiled at Lenka.

"What took you so long, dear brother? Are you the new recruit? My name is Myron Alexius, pleased to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, but no, I'm just here to watch. He's here for a try-out," she answered and gently pulled Miran in the spotlight. He smiled shyly at the stranger.

"My name is Miran, nice to meet you."

Myron's eyes practically turned into hearts, she blushed then squealed.

"CUTE! You're so cute! I wish I had a brother this cute!"

"Hey," Muu protested with an embarrassed grin and a shrug. When hearing someone scream the remaining fanalis turned around to see what or rather who caused the noise then came over to greet and meet. Lenka was grinning almost as wide as Muu as he introduced his men, too fast for her to remember the names while Myron hugged Miran who surprisingly managed to get her off him after a few seconds of squeezing. The boy smiled at the corps.

"Hello, I'm Miran, nice to meet you!"

And so the questioning began.

"Are you a pure-blood?"

"Where are you from?"

"How old are you?"

"Do you have siblings?"

"Where do you live?"

"Is she your mother or your sister?"

Miran blinked then pointed on the persons who asked while answering "Yes, from Aktia, I'm nine, no, in a house Lenka won, no, Lenka is my savior."

"Oh, you're a fast one, that's good," a tall man replied with a wide grin, like, really wide, a part of his left cheek was missing and scarred. With the wild red hair and beard he looked a bit frightening to Lenka, but everyone's Rukh were white, even though they had not many, and she knew that the corps' members were friendly. The boy curiously tilted his head to look at Lolo more closely.

"Thanks. You're a strong one. Like everyone here. You are all strong."

Lolo grinned even wider, if that was even possible and the others looked pleased and proud.

"Of course, lad. We're the fanalis corps after all, even though some aren't as strong as the others and try to make up with highly educated princess-y behavior."

"Did you say something, Lolo?" Myron asked in a sweet voice and the man shrugged.

"Maybe."

"Guys, don't fight when we have visitors. Let's get along," Muu reminded his sister and friend but the two of them continued their bickering. Lenka chuckled.

"They remind me of another couple I know," she said with a smile. "They would fight all day long and almost nothing could stop them."

"I fear if I won't stop them the buildings will suffer," the other dungeon capturer said with a frown.

"Sharrkan and Yamraiha would stop when you asked them for their wedding date or if they were having a lover's quarrel. Have you ever tried this method?"

"We fear that they were really having a lover's quarrel," a slender woman with large scars on her face and upper body snickered and Muu suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

"Razol, I don't want to think about this possibility."

"Sorry, captain. It just seemed to good to be true."

"I like you," Lenka decided. "I don't even know you but this comment made me like you. I'm Lenka, traveler, dungeon capturer, guardian and so on, I'm collecting quite a list of titles."

Razol clapped her hands.

"Dungeon capturer! I've never met a female one!"

"Until you go to Kou or Artemyra you won't meet another, isn't that so?"

"Spar with our captain!" someone in the background cheered. Lenka shook her head but it was Miran who answered.

"That would be unfair, Lenka has four djinn."

Even Lolo and Myron were silent while the blonde scratched the back of her head with a sheepish smile.

"Darn, Miran, you busted my cover."

 _Oh yes, we are so awesome,_ Orobas nodded with smug face. _I mean, you are awesome._

Muu broke the silence first.

"Four dungeons."

"Yeah, that was quite unlucky, I got abducted by the Rukh and warped into the first and jumped into the second because I couldn't take the sea-sickness and got dragged into the third by a jealous Magi – by the way, not my type of guy and no ally – and the fourth was an unlucky place too seek shelter in during a thunderstorm.

Uhm, I'm no enemy to Reim, okay? No need to rip me into little pieces?"

Their faces had turned warily, not sure if they should trust her. Lenka gulped and scanned their Rukh again. The first time she had said dungeon capturer some had started to shuffle around, except the few who had worked with other dungeon conquerors than Muu before, but now all eyes were set on her, staring as if she was a dangerous animal and they were yet to decide if they could trust her or not. Suddenly she realized that Alibaba's plan, hiding the fact that he was a dungeon capturer had been indeed the better plan. Reim was constantly threatened from Magnostadt and the expanding Kou nation, the soldiers were waiting to go to war any day. And she had to tell them she was a quadruple dungeon capturer. Oh so lucky. Where the hell had her sanity gone?

"Whom do you serve?" Myron asked and raised a fine brow. Hopefully this wouldn't be as bad as she feared. Or maybe even worse. She wasn't really sure if she could outrun an adult pure-blood.

"Solomon. I hope to become an ambassador to get the stubborn kings to work together, not against each other."

The brow climbed a bit higher.

"I see."

"Are you fro Kina?" another voice asked and Lenka blinked surprised. She had never heard of this country, not when reading Magi nor in her time in Sindria. Strange, but well, she wasn't omniscient. And some things slipped her mind, being modest and the concept of secrecy for example.

"From where?"

"Kina is an island nation further east than Kou, member of the Seven Seas Alliance. They use swords like yours," Lolo explained. The blonde shook her head.

"I found the blade in my first dungeon, so no, not from Kina. Me neither."

Muu cleared his throat.

"Guys, shouldn't you be training? I believe some of you have quite a lot of work to do."

The crowd dissipated with disappointed murmurs and he glanced at the blonde.

"Can we talk a bit? In private?"

Lenka tilted her head.

"Sure. I think I owe you a lot of explanations, don't I?"

She smiled down at Miran.

"I think you can stay with Myron and Razol, you can learn many things from them."

"You leave him in the best care," Myron assured, took the boy's hand and almost dragged him away, Razol followed with a snicker.

"Go, captain!"

 _I am quite sure that she's a closet shipper,_ she told the djinn then followed Muu the way they came before. He was brooding the first few steps then turned around to face her.

"Is it true that you are not an enemy of the Reim empire?"

"Would I still be standing here and talk with you if I was? Of course I'm no enemy," she replied with a quick roll of her eyes. He scratched his head.

"Oh, yeah, we talked about that."

"I want to ask a favour," Lenka said and opened the space pocket. "My fourth dungeon was Eligos', I conquered it on my way from Napolia to Remano. Halfway through I found a young man and his guards, slaughtered by agents of a certain organization."

Muu knit his brows.

"A certain organization you say..."

"Al-Thamen."

She handed him the clay figurine and the ring wrapped in the piece of cloth she took from the noble's corpse.

"I disposed of two more puppets and a black metal vessel user as well."

He scowled at the figure then looked at her.

"A black metal vessel user? That sounds not good."

"I fought one who turned into a black djinn in Balbadd and friends of mine fought more during and after the conquest of a dungeon. One of them is currently heading to Magnostadt to investigate if they were producing the black metal vessels."

"Magnostadt!" he snarled. "If it's like that you have to meet Lady Scheherazade as soon as possible."

Lenka hummed in agree, amazed how much the gentle man could change when his country was endangered.

"That is the favour I want. I need to have a private audience with the Magi Scheherazade and the dungeon capturers of Reim, only those people should hear my message. Please, tell her that I'm the warrior and that the guardian sent me. She will probably know what this means."

Muu nodded.

"Okay. Let's head back then I can go to deliver the message and this stuff," he weighted the figure and the package in his hand with a face that clearly showed his concern and growing anger for the fallen organization.

* * *

As soon as they stepped on the training grounds Muu raced over to Myron, Lolo and another man then hurried to the temple of the Sacerdos Maxima, the highest priestess, his sister and household member following on his heels. Razol ambled over to Lenka who stood at the edge of the field.

"What the hell did you tell the captain that he had to disappear this fast?"

"Bad news," she admitted with a sour face. "Either I'm here tomorrow or I'm on the run, which would be bad for the future."

Razol clicked her tongue.

"I understand. Do you want to spar with me?"

"I should work on my djinn equip, sorry."

"No problem. By the way, the way you speak is funny."

Lenka frowned.

"It's not funny. It's an accent, you should hear a Scot talking, that's funny."

"A Scot?"

"Never mind, I tend to weird out people."

Razol laughed.

"Okay, I guess this was a warning, but I'm a fanalis, running from a bit weirdness is no option. I will watch your efforts."

Lenka nodded then walked over to a bench under a tree from where she could watch Miran training. Razol sat down and watched her as she slowed her breath then concentrated on the biceps rings. She was absolutely sure the fanalis was there to supervise and kill her if she did something that looked like an attack. Now this was worth a celebration.

 _Orias, let's try again._

Instantly her arms were dark blue and she held a long whip with a silver handle. The rope had the color of the dark night sky.

 _I still wonder what exactly this can do,_ she mused and flicked her wrist. The cord reacted smoothly and fluid and she was reminded of the ribbon she had used in rhythmic gymnastics. Razol clapped her hands.

"Looks nice."

"Indeed."

 _Maybe it's something like that,_ Orobas guessed.

 _Might be. Orias, a bit more, slowly change to a full equip._

The blue color turned into something like a shimmering tissue, wrapped itself around Lenka then dissipated to leave her with white hair, a shitload of silver chains hanging from a silver choker, silver horns, wrapped around her waist and arms, a blue fluttery stole and -

"Yes, no pervert version!"

She wore a long dress that had close similarity to the one's Pisti wore, just that the skirt part was longer and the strong chains around her middle reduced the exposition of skin severely. The silver stick in her hand looked a bit more fragile than before. Curious she made a few quick spirals, the ribbon elongated like a rubber band.

 _A waveline and a ring,_ Orobas demanded. Lenka did and yelped in surprise as a giant hole opened inside the ring. Stars glittered in the darkness of space.

"Wow, a warping tool. I could use this to dodge attacks. It's really similar to Dantalion, isn't it?"

 _We worked on this technique together, but when did you met her?_

 _Er, I read a few things?_

 _You should stop now, they are staring._

 _Oops._

She canceled the djinn equip then waved at the corps, grinning apologetic. Miran walked over, the young man Muu had spoken to before followed him, looking at Lenka with a wary glint. The scarred woman smiled wide and hopped on her feet.

"That looked totally different from the way the captain uses his equip. What can you do with that?"

"I'm not sure, dodging attacks for sure, maybe teleporting people over a long distance. Extreme Magic with this will be really strange. Well, I have three more djinn equips, one had to be a bit strange."

 _Thanks for the compliment._

 _Brother, strange or weird is the new amazing and fantastic._

 _Since when?_ Eligos asked.

 _Since I am his queen,_ Lenka smiled. Razol introduced the man as Yaqut, a close friend of hers. During their chat about Reim and what you could do here in your free time Muu returned and made an instant beeline for Lenka. The expression he wore was calm, but his Rukh were in a frenzy.

"Lady Scheherazade has agreed to meeting you tomorrow morning, I'll guide you there."

She nodded and smiled warmly at him.

"Thank you very much. I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble."

"It's not you, it's their fault. You are just the unlucky one to deliver such a message," he replied with a sigh.

"I heard once that misfortune is only fortune that isn't there yet."

Muu cracked a smile.

"If you want to see it that way I have no objections."

 _And so the fall of our heroine began, as she was not familiar with the concept of falling in love as other humans did, wondering why her feeble heart jumped in her chest like a bunny when hunted by a fox,_ Eligos read out loud from a scroll then squealed as Orobas threw fire balls at her.

 _Not my Lenka, I forbid such things! I say no!_

 _... your brother is an idiot,_ Gusion told Orias who was busy opening black holes in the room to keep the damage done through the flames and Eligos minimal. Lenka started to wonder just how she had managed not to get mad with this permanent ruckus in the back of her head when Gusion almost got grilled and started to create solid, see-through walls for the other djinn to run into.

Much to the desparation of Orias who was suddenly the last survivor in a place where small fires were eating at the furniture, his twin and Eligos lying on the floor nursing their headaches after colliding with diamond walls, Gusion looked extremely bored while inspecting her claws and the queen he chose was utterly and ridiculously unaware of what mess she was creating by just walking around. His left eyelid started to twitch nervously as he took a glance around the room and collapsed on the sofa in a heap of silver chains and fluttery stole.

 _"Just what did I do to deserve this, Solomon?"_

Gusion seemed to raise a brow, almost impossible to tell with her seal-like features.

 _"I ask myself this question the entire time. The only joy I have is the knowledge that I'm not the only one suffering."_

 _"You actually like seeing me like this? And I hoped you were normal."_

 _"The new amazing and fabulous is weird and strange, Orias. Weird and strange."_

* * *

 **And as I promised the last time, another extra. Seriously, I wonder how I managed to find enough time to write this monster. More than 2,200 words... Anyway, this has a lot of my personal beliefs and theories in it, you have been warned. And spoilers.**

* * *

The world glittered and glistened in the darkness like a lost jewel. White streams of Rukh flew over the surface, avoiding the dark continent thus making the land live up to it's name. This was the world that was created after the fall of Alma Toran. Solomon floated in the universe, watching the countless birds as everyone formed their destinies as they wanted to, eyes slightly narrowed at the growing number of depraved, black Rukh. Surely they had to return, pass the walls between space only with the power of their consciousness to bring evil again, cause diseases, distrust, differences between the people.

He had worked hard, so hard to have Il Ilah sealed away in another space, to cut the being off from the world, to cause the Rukh to shine white like newly-fallen snow, white as if the light of sun and moon shone inside their tiny forms. So hard...

But now...

He had never thought David would accomplish that. Solomon looked at the black thread with as much disgust as he could manage. The connection between the entity that had formed of the fusion of the man who he had long ago stopped thinking of as his father and the being that was the cause of all the pain and terror and hopelessness they had to suffer and the singularity that had been born into the new world. Sinbad.

Solomon hadn't really realized what he had been seeing, thought it was just a flicker of the death of a sun in the darkness but the dark filament had thickened in the blink of an eye, which where probably years down on the planet. And so much more had went wrong. He could see the surges of black Rukh pulsating in the pure white, Ithnaan, Arba and the Magi they had caused to fall.

The concept of the three Magi who should watch over the world stood on the edge, balancing only a hair's wide away from collapsing.

His eyes widened as a new white light started to flash in the desert, a light with a radiance similar to his own, similar and yet a tiny bit different. Aladdin, his and Sheba's son. Sheba. How much he missed her. Missed his friends. Missed everyone. But the boy seemed to have inherited a few of her traits. It seemed like Ugo had finally sent him into this world to interfere with Al-Thamen again.

Solomon watched the first steps of his son in the blinding sands, the first encounter with people, the first time he ate melons... If the past had been another...

He heard the whispers of the djinn, looked at the red pillars that appeared and disappeared whenever a dungeon was raised, closed or conquered. And whispers of Ugo, in the vast halls of the sacred palace and straightened up. His old friend was worrying about the future. Solomon looked at the dark threat, listened to Ugo's voice, head Aladdin's laughter, watched him with the king he chose even before they entered Amon and came to a decision.

Catapulting his conscience into the sacred palace without Ugo noticing was child's play for him, skimming the countless theories the man once Magi now djinn had made not, it took him quite a few moments that could have been eternities to find the one scroll that had been an alternative to the Magi system. He quickly scanned the context then left the palace, using the power he held as god to look through the universe, through the walls between dimensions.

So many universes, so many many many many many many of them. And even more dimensions, each layered upon another like the sheets in a very, very, very thick book. And so many, many, almost uncountably many worlds filled with different life forms, cultures, differences.

The pure magnitude of everything made him feel small, insignificant, lost in the darkness. What had he been trying to achieve up until now? The problems he had been having in his past form and now seemed so puny in comparison to this – he couldn't even find a word to describe it.

A tingling laugh filled his mind and Solomon frowned, looking around to find nothing. Apparently there were beings out there that surpassed even the gods, gods like him and Il Ilah. A moment he reckoned why they hadn't interfered, but as his gaze wandered around he abolished the thought. There were so many worlds, dimensions, universes, planets, realities that they had to be more than busy.

Solomon started to look again, this time using the power he had gained, searching for someone, something that would be of use for the future of the world he guarded, something that would cut the connection between Il Ilah, David and Sinbad so that he could force the darkness back into the sealed space again. A tool.

A tug at the edge of his conscience had him cross the endless voids, the star-filled fields, the tantalizing processes of dis- and rearranging the form he more or less maintained as he slipped through the walls between dimensions until he found a shining spot, a accumulation of stars that made the space shimmer white like snow, like milk, a spiral in the dark. He came along even more planets, stars in every color and one time a strange object mad of metal as he dived through this dimension into a small solar system. A huge aggregation of metal – he couldn't find another word – junk was mixed into the gravity field of this planed that shimmered blue and green, but there was no Rukh, no energy like he felt it from other worlds.

No magic.

But ghosts. Many ghosts he could sense, vengeful spirits, lost, alone in a world without magic.

The tugging came from a small island in the northern part of this world, small and yet incredibly big when he neared, bristling with life as he landed in the middle of the largest city he could spot, which was a bit more south-eastern than central. A broad, muddy river passed the gray houses, higher than the highest trees, blinding glass everywhere, and old buildings, telling stories from a past filled with great men, battles, fire and empires. And people, so many people running around, almost everyone's glance was glued to a small device they all seemed to possess. Solomon curiously touched a young girl to gather information about this world then heard her gasp then squeak in joy.

"I have to note down this idea! This will be a perfect fanfiction!"

She started dabbing on the device and Solomon, fingers still in the girl's head, frowned in surprise as she formed the idea of a world he, Solomon had passed by traveling through the endless void. Interesting, he thought and touched a few more people, gathering knowledge faster than a sponge when dived into water.

This world, without magic or not, was a place filed with seers. They saw different worlds, different events, stories and wrote them down, painted them, made movies of all the things they had 'imagined'. Solomon was impressed. He had never thought that imagination could be this powerful. Maybe somewhere a seer existed who was writing down his story at the very moment, or maybe Aladdin's. He should check that later, he had time after all. As soon as business was finished.

He followed the tugging to a huge complex where a few hundred of younger humans were sitting in a large building, listening to what an older man down the pit was saying. University, students, lecture hall, medicine, the words kept popping up in his head as he walked down the stairs then stopped at a row in the middle, jumped onto the desk and walked a few centimeters over the writing or typing hands until he found the source of the tugging.

A woman, or rather girl, younger than the others around her, staring intensely at the lecturer. Her long blond hair was dead straight, so she was not different from the other women sitting in the hall. Solomon tilted his head then looked at one of the Rukh that had accompanied him.

 **This one?**

The Rukh fluttered like Rukh always did, but maybe with a bit more enthusiasm than usually and Solomon sighed and continued to watch the blonde, Marlene-Karen Sensenmacher, Lenka, for the day. Or rather, scan all her memories, even those she had buried deep down in a box under a ton of steel plates at the ground of the ocean called her past. And what memories...

He followed her as the lessons were finished into the library and then to a place named 'Starbucks' where she met another girl whose hair had been artificially changed to a dark cherry-red, then, after receiving a call on her 'smartphone' to a suburb in which she entered a huge manor, greeted two children that seemed to be her siblings then went into an office to talk to a man who was undoubtedly her father.

"I don't think I want to stop studying medicine, it is a prestigious way after all."

"No father, I don't know the person you're speaking about."

"Marriage? You know that I'm only eighteen, do you?"

"I won't marry! First meeting tomorrow? Are you insane?"

"Shut up! I won't marry a stranger! Don't you dare to force this onto Valerie!"

Solomon wanted to pat her back for comfort and strangle this father person at the same time, especially after touching his head for a second then pulled his fingers back as if the grayish hair had burned him. She had no choice but to obey.

He accompanied her to an apartment complex near the university where she looked at the 'smartphone' for a few seconds. Solomon leaned over to read the message that came from 'Caleb Graham' and knitted his brows together. The mating rituals were strange in this world. Breaking up because the girl didn't want to have sex before marriage was perfectly logical, so why had he to express it like that?

She bit on her lower lip until it started to bleed then grabbed a bag and went out again. Solomon sighed and waited on a wooden bank in the hall of her 'dojo' as she sparred with other people dressed in white robes and colorful belts that eerily reminded him of nightgowns, back to the apartment where she started a 'computer' while heating 'pizza' in the 'oven', showered – he stayed in the kitchen and inspected the strange machines – and dressed into a 'jumper' while waiting for the food then surfed the 'net' to read-

He almost touched the screen with his nose as he leaned forward to see a picture of his son and the king vessel Alibaba then a second later a new picture appeared. With every click of the 'mouse' the _'manga_ ' progressed, much to Solomon's growing admiration for the seer Ohtaka Shinobu. At some point the woman pointed with a slice of pizza at the monitor.

"I bet Arba Gyokuen hasn't died. She will come back for sure. People like her will always return. For sure, I know that you blokes never read Harry Potter, but they had been sure that Voldemort had been dead as well. Or Sauron. Seriously."

Oh. The seer even seemed to have seen the future yet to come and shared it with the persons of this world, or rather the persons reading the ' _manga'_ online. Like Lenka did. She was as strange person. The whole world was strange, and it got even stranger as she started to play a game called 'Skyrim' which opened another new world in the frame of the computer monitor!

She played for hours, then, after a glance at clock hanging on the wall and a surprised yelp she shut the computer down, went to the bathroom and then to bed. Solomon rubbed his eyes and tried to gather every bit of knowledge he had found on her up until now then nodded at the Rukh. The parallels he saw between her and some of the people he had known once were striking.

 **So will it be.**

He closed his eyes and returned to the sacred palace.

 **Ugo.**

His Magi looked up, confusion was replaced with joy the instant he recognized the voice.

"Solomon! Where are you? What-"

 **Take the warrior plan into action. I will send you an appropriate candidate. Transport her into one of the twins' dungeons.**

"Solomon! Solomon! Wait!"

He opened his eyes and found himself standing in Lenka's bedroom again. It was morning now and she was wearing a strange combination of a 'denim' skirt, a green pullover, a vest, 'overknee' socks and a white wooly hat with two red badges. She took a bagpack, filled it with various things then left the apartment complex, entered the metro and almost instantly pulled out her 'smartphone'. After a few minutes she inhaled sharply.

"How dare you!"

Solomon felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Bringing her to his world would be fun, he could almost see the troubles she would make for Ugo and the other beings. This would be an interesting story.

* * *

 **Gaah, chapter 18 already. Somehow I'm not entirely satisfied with it, but I have at least thirty more chapters to write to finish _Second Chance_. Too many things I have to take care of... too many chapters to write... not enough time... *hides under the desk***

 **But thanks to you readers I can get into the right mood to do this! *throws confetti***

 **Thanks and fluffy bunnies to everyone who reviewed, favorited and/or followed! I would bake some brownies but they would be gluten-free. And taste like burned cardboard. They always do...  
**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes because I do the correcting stuff on my own and English is not my native language.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 19: Meeting Scheherazade

Lenka woke up early the next day, wide awake after dreaming about red hair, lions and loosing her teeth. She remembered reading that a dream about loosing one's teeth meant that one was loosing control of a situation or fearing failure or something equally bad and she wasn't really fond of loosing control or failing, especially not in a situation like this. After half an hour of warming up she went to the kitchen to make breakfast. Against common knowledge she could cook some more dishes than five kinds of soup: scrambled eggs and toast Hawaii. For the rest she needed the help of the god called microwave.

A yawning Miran came into the kitchen when she scratched the eggs on two plates and as soon as they finished eating and put the plates to the sink someone knocked on the door. Lenka opened and smiled at Muu, Myron and Yaqut.

"Good morning. We've finished a few minutes ago. Miran, are you done?"

The boy jumped on the street to greet the other fanalis while she quickly locked the door then turned to Muu.

"Shall we go now?"

He nodded.

"Myron, Yaqut, look after Miran. We return after the audience."

"I understand, brother."

Lenka grinned and waved.

"Bye then, and thank you!"

Somehow she couldn't shake off the feeling that they were here to supervise her, but maybe that was her persecution complex that occasionally visited in situations like this.

They walked in relative silence, the streets were slowly awakening, merchants were preparing their stalls for the customers, setting their most attractive products on display. The blonde felt a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. It was going to be a lively day again then glanced up at Muu. The nervousness he emitted was growing stronger so she carefully poked his arm. He flinched nonetheless and his hand automatically grabbed the hilt of his sword before he remembered he was not under attack.

"Don't worry, everything will be alright, or at least I hope so. I'll be telling my story and then we'll return to the training grounds, won't we?"

Muu sighed then smiled at her and let go of the sword.

"You're probably right. It's just that Lady Scheherazade seemed a bit... worried after hearing your message."

"She would be stupid if she wouldn't be a bit worried I guess."

He nodded, hopefully he wasn't offended by her bluntness. Oh well, he had to deal with it.

"Tell me when I say something not appropriate, I speak first then think most times. Quite a hassle."

His smile grew into a grin.

"Okay, I try to inform you then. We are almost there."

The palace of the Sacerdos Maxima, the highest priestess, was even more gorgeous than Sinbad's in Lenka's eyes, but that would be only natural; Scheherazade and the Reim Empire were way older than Sindria. Muu led her through a white hallway into a giant throne room where some soldiers and noble court men were standing.

The Magi Scheherazade sat on a huge wooden chair that stood atop of a pedestal, looking like a doll with her long wavy golden hair and the big eyes that changed from green to blue in the light, old and yet ageless. The mole next to her eye seemed a bit cheeky, maybe she had been in her youth. Her right hand gripped the golden staff firmly, the crone of ivy and grapes sitting firmly on her head. A rather old man with long nose stood next to the throne on her left side, the helmet he was wearing showed the crest of the Empire. On the right side was a younger man with a laurel chaplet in the clothes of a noble, his nose so high up that she was tempted to ask how the air was up there. Muu bowed in front of them and after a second of thought she decided to do the _Attack on Titan_ style greeting – should they break their heads when trying to figure out where this gesture came from.

 _Man, even a Kou greeting would've been less difficult with the boobs, Lenka._

 _Stop complaining, Orobas._

 _Lenka, the old man has conquered Purson, the other Shax._

 _Thanks, Orias._

"Lady Scheherazade, I brought you Lenka, the traveler," Muu said with serious face. She returned the look the Magi gave her as she sent her Rukh out to get in touch with the foreigner's. The green eyes widened for a second then closed again.

"You can stop using your djinn's power. No harm shall be done to you in this halls."

The 'for now' was mentally added but Lenka was too confused to notice it.

 _Guys?_

 _Eligos will stop, don't growl at Eligos,_ the djinn pouted.

 _What were you doing anyway?_

 _Eligos uses a mixture of lightning magic that affects the brains of beings and sends out signals to not attack you. Basically it's magic to make you attractive. A charm. Not very strong until you do djinn equip. But then you will have an army following you within the blink of an eye. Back in the old days..._

 _Oh fucking hell, Eligos that is not possible,_ Lenka frowned and bowed again.

"Pardon this, Lady Scheherazade, but my djinn acted without my consent. They are very strong-willed and use my _magoi_ without permission to protect me. I was unaware to which extent they actually would go to do this."

The petite blonde nodded as if this was something she had actually known already but the young man with the chaplet snorted and muttered something. Lenka catched glimpses of "woman", "can't control her djinn properly", and general animosity and frowned a little at the guy before looking back at the other woman who had started to speak again.

"You are the conqueror of four dungeons."

"I am," she answered, ignoring the surprised gasps of the soldiers, nobles and the young man on the Magi's right side. Scheherazade leaned back and let her fingers run over the staff she held.

"Muu delivered your message. How did you meet the guardian?"

Lenka frowned again.

"This is extremely sensitive information which I should only tell Magi and fellow metal vessel holder."

The other raised an eyebrow and stomped the shiny stick on the floor. A rush and flutter of the Rukh later they were covered by a shimmering dome, like a soap bubble.

"Talk. I raised a shield that will keep unwelcome listeners away."

"My name is Marlene-Karen Sensenmacher, nineteen years old. I am a dimension traveler who was brought here by the Rukh and the will of the great Solomon. My task is to protect the ones choosing kings, which are the Magi and change destiny to the better. During the time I spent here the Rukh have started to change my body to adapt it to this world because the place where I come from has no magic power whatsoever, or I was unaware if it had some. I want to maintain a neutral position in the political world or to become an ambassador. My main enemies are Al-Thamen, perverts and human idiocy," Lenka rattled off with a smile. The men's jaws fell and Scheherazade's eyes widened even more until she looked wide awake, not on the edge of falling asleep anymore. She nodded slowly and rubbed with the thumb over her staff.

"Is that so? I thought the way the Rukh act around you was strange, but it's perfectly clear if you are a being from another world."

"Yeah, well, I think it might be a parallel dimension but I have no clue how to get back. By the way, I'm sorry for conquering Eligos without asking first."

The Magi tilted her head and a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"I shall forgive you. In fact I'm glad that you did. If Al-Thamen had managed to obtain the djinn terrible things would have happened. Muu said you mentioned black metal vessels."

Lenka nodded.

"As far as I know Magnostadt mass-produces magic tools, maybe even black metal vessels. A friend of mine is there to investigate on this matter. We saw what these lunatics from the organization could do with black metal vessels. They are strong and can even perform extreme magic, but if the attacker is exceptionally skilled or strong they can be defeated easily. When the user is not very compatible or looses his reason a black djinn forms. My friends and I fought one during the revolution in Balbadd. Their regenerative ability is high, they use every kind of possible magic."

Scheherazade frowned and straightened in her seat.

"One of my mages is there now as well, but he hasn't informed me about such things yet."

 _Argh, fail!_

 _L-Lenka?_

 _It's okay, guys._

"I know that because I came from another dimension. Let's say I read some fictional books and they prove to be true."

The Magi was silent for a few seconds, simply stared at the traveler and watched her Rukh which was somehow a very embarrassing feeling. Like, standing topless in front of her or in a plushy cat costume. Or having toilet paper on her boot without noticing.

"You're not telling everything you know."

 _And here we go..._

"Everyone has things that are better left in the dark."

The young noble snorted again.

"Witty replies won't bring you anywhere, girl. Tell Lady Scheherazade what she wants to know."

Lenka shrugged and raised her hands with a shrug. What a stupid idiot.

"Well, I managed to get this far with witty replies as well as giving mysterious hints and explicit warnings, so why should I stop? Neither King Sinbad nor Princess Kougyoku had a problem with that habit of mine so maybe you are one of the few who has?

If you have a question you want to ask, ask. If you have a problem with my behaviour, blame it on my rebellious nature, not on the environment I grew up in. I am me, not the person others want me to be, and have proven this fact in more than one occasion."

During her little speech her body language and gestures changed, the facade she used to wear in her old life built up until it was no longer Lenka the traveler but Marlene-Karen Sensenmacher that stood before the Magi and her vessel users. Her expression was cool and royally superior, her stance refined and elegant, gray eyes like steel and ice pierced her counterparts.

Scheherazade examined the young woman again before speaking.

"Have you ever heard the term 'king vessel'?"

Lenka made a pained face and dropped the act.

"I have. A Magi can raise dungeons, and the people conquering this dungeons are the 'king candidates'. From this candidates the Magi eventually chooses a 'king vessel', a person he or she will fully support and convince to found a kingdom or empire which will have the support of the Magi as well."

The priestess nodded.

"I believe you are an ideal candidate for a king vessel. Confident, charismatic, convincing, caring. You are aware of your weaknesses and strengths."

"I might be, but there are even better candidates around for sure," the traveler waved the praise aside. Scheherazade's fingers thrummed on her staff.

"I want you to fight one of my vessel users."

Muu, Lenka and the young noble gasped in surprise, the old man raised his eyebrow. She quickly scanned the males for their Rukh and djinn and tried to remember what she knew from reading Magi. Muu had high destructive powers and was insanely fast, but couldn't use the full equip more than a few minutes or so. And the others...

 _The gramps has Purson, a water djinn,_ Gusion said.

 _Noted for further notice. I don't recall the younger battling the medium, maybe he hasn't mastered full equip yet. And then complaining about people not able to control their djinn. At least you are useful company._

 _Aww,_ Eligos cooed and gave her a mental hug, another strange sensation. You didn't have the physical feeling of someone hugging you, only the calming effect.

"Lady Scheherazade, pardon the question, but is this really necessary?" Muu asked with a frown. The young noble looked bothered by this question but his Rukh showed relief that he wasn't the one who had to ask. Git. The Magi nodded.

"It is. You may have to fight other metal vessel users in the future and this is my requirement for her to prove if she is worth my trust. Neither Kou nor Magnostadt will go easy on you."

Lenka frowned as well. This was a tricky situation Scheherazade had created, and according to the glint in her eyes she knew this as well. A trap. But during her travels she had overcome worse.

"I sparred with King Sinbad and his household during my stay in Sindria as well as two of my friends, I don't mind to train with others. But the more I think about your request the more uncomfortable I get. If I accept too easily you'll probably see me as blood-thirsty and dangerous, if I refuse as a coward. I have to reason aloud so that you won't misunderstand my intentions, if I wouldn't you'd assume that I'm a sneaky person who tries to get benefits from this situation, am I correct?"

Scheherazade ignored the angry huff of the noble and chuckled. Which caused the men to stare at her in confusion.

"More or less. Let's put it another way. Would you please train with my metal vessel users to give them an idea how it would be to fight another dungeon capturer from an enemy country?"

"If it ends in someone becoming a bloody jell-o pulp no, but if you can assure that no one will die then yes."

The petite chuckled again then stood up and canceled the shield with a wave of her staff.

"Ignatius, if you would lead us to the army's training ground."

 _Wait, right now?_ Lenka mentally yelped as the old man nodded and took the lead outside.

 _I guess she simply wants to see what you can do,_ Orobas mused.

 _Oh, Solomon. Magi are so straining._

… _and your mouth is too big for your own good._

 _Grr._

* * *

Lenka was frowning again. The problem was not the huge grass field and not the roman-style wooden fort in which the soldiers used to live when they had no family in Remano, she could deal with that. The problem was the crowd that had gathered. Muu had to inform he corps and the fanalis had decided to accompany them, to the annoyance of the noble, who was in fact the son of the emperor, Nerva Julius Caluades, who had to bring his guardian escorts, plus Scheherazade's guards plus the approximately five hundred soldiers in the fort. Spectators who were were highly to get killed, yaay! Hopefully the Magi would shield them.

 _Don't chicken out, we'll do just fine, like we always do,_ Orobas grinned. His twin nodded in agree _._

 _You went trough worse challenges._

 _Cough, perverted Magi brat, cough,_ Gusion murmured, but her black eyes glistened with mischief. Black was good, but if they turned yellow one had to run for cover. A mischievous seal-jackal djinn who told the truth was exactly what she needed now. But of course this was way better than a livid seal-jackal djinn.

"I don't really want them to watch," Lenka murmured. Muu who stood next to her smiled painfully and fiddled with the hilt of his metal vessel. Touching metal vessels to draw comfort or check if they were still there was a nervous habit probably every dungeon capturer developed somewhere along the way. She had seen Alibaba and Kougyoku doing the same, sometimes even Sinbad silently counting his djinn containers. And of course she was not a tad better.

"Me neither. I hope Myron and Lolo won't start a fight right here."

"And now I hope your sister won't attack me after I wipe the floor with you," she tried to joke. Muu raised a brow and grinned.

"Be careful, it might be the other way around."

"I don't think so. Oh, before we start fighting I want you to know that I have absolutely no exhibitionist tendencies. My djinn saved on cloth in the equips. Don't complain I didn't warn you."

He blinked surprised then his smile turned a bit embarrassed.

"I think this is standard for most djinn equips. Mine isn't really covering either."

Lenka faked a shudder.

"Trust me, I have experienced worse than you for sure."

She returned Miran's waving then looked at Scheherazade. The Magi seemed to have finished a barrier to keep the spectators safe and now waited for them to come over.

"You will fight Ignatius first," she said and nodded towards the old man.

 _Remember, he uses a water djinn, but everyone of us can deal with it. I control liquids, acid and gas, so you have free choice,_ Gusion said.

 _Maybe you can even show off 'that',_ Orias mused and Lenka nodded as well.

"I doubt we should use extreme magic."

"The barriers are strong enough to withstand several extreme attacks," the petite blonde told her. "You may change your djinn during the fight."

 _Why do I have the feeling that this is almost as suicidal as trying to stop a fight between Myron and Lolo?_

 _Because it is._

 _Thanks, Gusion. I'm so confident in my skills now._

 _Take me first,_ Orobas cheered and jumped up and down.

"Okay, I try to keep the damage at a minimum."

"A fair fight," Ignatius said and started his incantation. Lenka hadn't even to say a word, the white flames covered her instantly and left her in the usual pervert equip with almost a mile of gold chains, very skimpy cloth stripes to attempt covering and the fiery stole. The familiar weight of the blue crystal saber in her right hand was as calming as the presence of her djinn. With a joyful laugh she jumped up to hover over the field, fresh air, blue skies above and the green grass below her. Seconds later the old man had turned into a trident-wielding merman and shot up to her. She smiled at him for a second then tried to stab his stomach. The wall of water he summoned started to boil as soon as the sword touched it, curved columns of flames chased him over the skies.

Lenka hummed happily and hurled fire balls at him, similar to Aladdin's that followed enemies and exploded.

 _He's on defense,_ she realized after a few more attacks. _The old guy won't attack me because I'm a girl. Bad decision._

 _Bad decision,_ Orobas agreed. _Fire prison?_

 _Fire prison._

That trick really never got old, six pillars from different directions that fanned out and formed a cage that started to shrink just worked too well. And still Ignatius didn't fight back. Time for some verbal encouragement of some sorts.

"Come on, old man!" she yelled, "Do you Kou will spare you?! They don't need geezers to question, they rip you into shreds before you can even equip your djinn! Are you too rheumatic to fight back? Problems with haemorrhoids? Lumbago?"

A muscle in his face twitched then he changed his grip on the trident.

"Don't blame me, girl."

A white-glowing circle appeared over him, he was going to use his extreme magic. Lenka snorted and tugged at her _magoi_ reserve. Her evocation field was at least five times largerr than Ignatius' and still grew bigger until she finished the chant in her head.

 _Now?_

 _No._

 _Now? It's been almost two minutes. Why doesn't he use his extreme? This is so boring!  
_

 _Because I would simply blow him away when he does._

 _We are so great. Hey, look at the geezer._

He started sweating, the veins on his face throbbed angrily. She grinned at him then yawned openly.

"I can keep on like this, you know? Four hours. I could have tea-time with scones while using the djinn equip, knit a scarf and lacquer my nails crazy pink, all while waiting for you to either attack or cancel everything."

Her gaze softened as she continued "I think you can stop now, we will continue training on another day for sure. This is enough."

The old man's eyes widened then he lowered the trident. The magic circle disappeared without a trace while he floated down to softly land on the grass and stopped the equipment. The traveler snickered amused and flew down as well to hover a few feet over the ground.

"Who's next?" she asked with a wide grin. Scheherazade nodded towards Muu.

"Then I have to change djinn."

 _Thanks, Orobas,_ she thought as the armor faded and left her way more covered.

 _Gusion, do we want to make a show?_

 _I don't mind._

She quickly blew a kiss on the inside of inside of her right arm then smiled at her next victim who drew his gladius.

"Let's go.

Spirit of friendship and reconciles, cover my body, turn me into a great sorcerer! Gusion!"

"Spirit of hunting and nobility, I command thee, be clad in my body, turn me into a great djinn, Barbatos!"

 _Count the seconds._

Lenka bared her canines in a grin, her ears and whiskers twitched in anticipation as she faced the now dark-skinned Muu. His long hair had almost turned into a white mane and he wore even less clothes than she did in her fire equip.

 _Eligos spots eye candy,_ the djinn said and wiped the drool from her mouth before wriggling her eyebrows meaningful at the twins who instantly ran for cover.

 _Two, three..._

Before she had even time to agree with her djinn or to enjoy the view she had to block his javelin with her lance, then a second, third, fourth time as they raced towards the sky. He was incredibly fast and tore a few of her weaker barriers into shreds like rice paper or cobwebs until she could raise a wall of diamond between them.

 _Eleven, twelve..._

" _Pentaprism!"_

Muu growled as she used the crystal's surface to break the light – and thanked her physics teacher in the very second – and blinded him for a moment then almost teleported himself behind her to stake her. Gusion reacted even faster than the man and covered her queen without an order then shot several crystal spears at him.

 _Thanks._

 _Nineteen, twenty, twenty-one..._

" _Diamond falling spear!"_

" _Barbatos' javelin!"_

Flashes of light, crashing sounds like the roar of thunder filled the sky as the different spells collided. Lenka thought that her attack would have neutralized his but she had way underestimated Barbatos' offensive power. In the split second she had left before the impact would turn her into crispy bits a name flashed through her mind.

 _Orias!_

A black field the size of the arena opened in front of her and swallowed the strike completely. She hardly noticed the surprised screams from below as she was busy with snarling at him.

 _Thirty-four, thirty-five..._

 _Now I'm pissed._

" _Sulfuric cloud!"_

The airspace around her turned yellow then rushed towards Muu who waited a second too long, the sour particles touched his feet and started to eat at the metallic-looking beast legs he possessed. His eyes widened terrified and he instantly dived towards the ground. Lenka saw his Rukh flutter like exhausted butterflies and called the mist back; she had won her second fight.

Muu's nose was bleeding as he took his normal form, a sign of the high toll his body paid every time he used Barbatos' powers for too long, but this was the only injury he seemed to have. Ignatius was a bit better, he wasn't as beat as the fanalis and his face slowly lost the red color. Scheherazade waited until Lenka canceled her equip before she spoke.

"You have used two djinn in the fight against Muu. This is something I've never heard or seen before."

"Orias is a supporting type but works best alone or together with his twin Orobas, or so he told me. I've never tried a combination equip before, it seemed too dangerous without sufficient medics around."

 _Hakuryuu will be able to use two djinn at the same time._

 _Because Belial is a really strange guy. Really strange. But we can do the same.  
_

"Try it. I am able to use magic of the eight type easily."

 _Oh shit. Guys?_

 _It could work, the thing we have talked about could as well._

 _Better just try the double equip._

The twins nodded in agree, Lenka opened the fastener of the golden necklace and took the golden jewel in her right hand then concentrated on her _magoi_ and the presence of her djinn. Left side and right side.

 _I'll chant loud._

"Twin djinn of faithfulness, dignity and truth, unite your households again, cover my body, turn me into a great warrior, Orobas, Orias."

This was by far more exhausting than using one equip, she needed to fuse the different energies of her djinn and hers somehow to cover herself with that. White and blue, midnight blue and silver, the sky and clouds. Sky and clouds. She was a canvas and the sky and clouds, the blue, white and silver were the picture. Lenka felt the familiar tickle of her body changing and concentrated even more. Sky, clouds, canvas. Blue, white, silver.

A sudden pain caused her concentration to break and the implosion of the Rukh threw her back, the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. Her field of vision was strangely blurred and rose-colored, the voices she heard were screaming or something like that, a high whistling noise filled her ears as if she had been dancing too long next to the speakers of her favorite club. Groggily she sat up and coughed while a big warm hand stabilized her back. Suddenly Miran's face appeared in front of her and a tissue was pressed to her nose.

"Lenka, are you hurt? Your eyes are bleeding and I think you hit your head pretty hard. How many fingers am I showing?"

"Twelve," she answered and started to wipe the blood away. "I'm joking, I see three fingers."

"I'm showing only two."

Lenka frowned and immediately regretted it as more blood trickled from her nose and her vision blurred again.

"Might be a concussion. That's not good."

A small and cool hand touched her forehead and Scheherazade looked at the other blonde.

"... you are not gravely injured but I recommend you staying at home for today. You shouldn't train tomorrow and recover your _magoi_."

" _Sorry, this is all Eligos' fault. I wanted to ask Orias if he had some glue and opened the door and caused an explosion and hurt Lenky. Sorry."_

"It's no big deal," Lenka said then stared at the blue djinn that hovered over her. "Er, what are you doing here? And why would you need glue? Since when did you have glue?"

" _Eligos wanted to see if you are hurt badly because the LSS only sent snow,"_ she cheerfully said and flapped her fairy wings, completely ignoring the surprised gasps of the people around. _"So Eligos borrowed a bit of your Rukh and a bit of the power of the explosion and came out to look. And Eligos needed glue to finish an idea Eligos had. Eligos would have preferred rope, but well..."_

" _It's all because you opened the door. If a door is closed you should knock first and not break the lock to get inside,"_ Orias gently scolded and patted Eligos' hair then smiled at Miran.

" _Are you doing well?"_

"I am, I'm following all of your and Orobas' directions!" the boy grinned. Gusion snorted and carefully patted his head with the tip of her flipper. Lenka almost cooed at the adorable picture in front of her. The djinn really cared for him.

" _Those directions are a huge load of crap, except the staring part, this is almost plausible."_

And they were teaching him bad words.

" _They are not crappy!"_ Orobas complained and scowled at the other djinn then looked at the small fanalis for help.

" _They helped until now, right? Did they? Please say they did, Miran, did they?"_

Miran nodded serious.

"A bit, it confuses people a lot."

" _You have to get bigger then it will work better. Continue to confuse them, I'll do the rest."_

Lenka groaned and hid her face then looked up as the warm hand rubbed her spine encouragingly. Her mind seemed to freeze for a second. Why was Muu sitting next to her and since when was his hand on her back? A voice in the back of her head that was obviously the inner fangirl squealed happily something about not thinking about it, just enjoying this before the louder voice of reason screamed at her to stop being such a damn fangirl. She must have hit her head really, really hard.

"Your djinn are interesting, I never thought they could appear like this."

"They are feeding on her _magoi_. You must have exceptionally large reserves," Scheherazade said with a slight frown. The foreigner nodded then raised her voice.

"Guys, please postpone your 'Chase the suitors away from Lenka' club meeting, I'm getting really tired here!"

Gusion and Orias disappeared instantly while Eligos took her time to say good-bye to Miran and Orobas stared at Muu with an intensity that made the man shift uncomfortably.

" _I don't approve of you."_

"You approve no one. Shoo, back in your vessel," Lenka said and rolled her eyes - Orobas did the 'I'll be watching you' gesture in djinn version – with three fingers – before disappearing.

"Lord Solomon, I'm really cursed with those djinn."

"I like them, they are funny," Miran said and took her hand to pull her up with ease. She was surprised how strong he had become then realized that Muu helped him by lifting her.

"Er thanks. Whoa, my legs are feeling like pudding, all wobbly and such. And I don't really like pudding. Only whe it's Christmas."

"I'll bring the two of you home," Muu said earnest and exchanged a look with the Magi. Scheherazade nodded then touched Lenka's forehead with the tip of her staff which really didn't help with the growing headache.

"I hereby proclaim you as friend of the Reim empire and a king candidate of mine."

Ignatius nodded in agree while Nerva looked a bit deprecatingly. But maybe this was his normal expression.

"Don't let Judar hear that," the traveler warned with a lop-sided grin. "He's pissed already because I conquered two of Yunan's dungeons. If he knew where he lived he would freeze his house and turn everything in a radius of twenty miles into wasteland."

"Is that so?"

"He's Judar," the answer came with a shrug.

"And thank you very much. I'll give my best. Ah, by the way," she opened a hole in space and pulled a sealed scroll outside.

"Sinbad gave me this for you. He asked me to negotiate for a bit. I free-loaded for seven months at his palace and this is a better way to pay him than the alternative."

The Magi nodded slowly and took the letter in her small hand.

"I contact you when I want to talk with you in private. You seem to have uncommon knowledge about the way this world works and I'd like to hear a few more things from you, but not today. Muu, bring her to bed."

The man saluted and Miran smiled at Scheherazade; he was as big as her.

"Thank you, Miss Scheherazade. Have a nice day."

He raced over to the waiting corps to inform them about what happened as they were maybe, or rather hopefully, too far away to listen to the conversation.

"I can go on my own," Lenka protested and tried to get Muu's hand away from her waist, not an easy task because he had wrapped her other arm around his neck, as if her foot was broken and he tried to stabilize her. Even in her hazy state she noticed how gentle he treated her – and how close they were. Too close. In her struggle to free herself she stumbled over a rock and instantly she was pulled back against him again.

"Whoops. Watch your step, Lenka."

"It would be easier if you would just let me walk on my own."

She couldn't see but rather feel him grin and damn, why was this so similar to a setting in a cheesy romance story? At next Prince Charming would appear on his white horse and the birds would listen to her songs... this reminded her of Spartos and Pisti and a sudden feeling of sadness almost drowned Muu's reply.

"Lady Scheherazade asked me to bring you and Miran home and thus I'm doing so."

"You are so in love with her, Muu."

"Of course I love her, she's the one responsible for who I am now."

Lenka hummed in agree.

"That's a sweet thing to say. You should tell her. Ah, better not listen to me, I'm still a bit woozy but I'll train with you and your corps when I've slept a bit."

"Shall I sent someone to fetch Miran tomorrow?"

"I'm sure I' okay by then, but if you want to send your sister. I believe she's already attached to him."

Muu chuckled, glanced at the subject of their conversation to see if he was still there then back to Lenka.

"He's a good boy and very lucky to have someone like you to watch over him."

"I'm glad to have him as well. But don't knock before eight tomorrow."

"Have you no trust in my inner clock?"

"Not a tiny bit. Absolutely no trust."

Miran shook his head in pity as he followed them into the city. Adults. He would never act so strange when he was a grown up.

* * *

 **And cut! Chapter 19 done! *hands bottles with water to the characters***

 **I am absolutely stunned that I've managed to write this much. My parents tried to make me do household chores and I was like: more than eighty wonderful persons out in the world follow my story, they have waited since last Sunday for the new chapter! I have to write!**

 **Somehow they were very understanding... because I cooked lunch.**

 **And whoa, whoa whoa, six reviews for the last chapter? Hot damn you guys are absolutely awesome, the last chapter that had this many was chapter 4!**

 **Here, have some cookies you cuties, Handara, Leilaneko, Miyutsuki-Hime *tries to feed you gluten-free cookies* and:**

 **Nemeria: he he he... he. I have a plan and this plan involves the confusion of many people, a lot of angry screams and me running away fast. The next chapters will be hell for me and my mail account. And yeah, I saw that you found the reference to _Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle_ in the extra in chapter 17. I love this work a lot. And Lenka should actually become an OC in a _Tsubasa_ fanfic, but then I started reading _Magi_ and needed a protagonist... and she said she would do the job... *pats Lenka on the head* :D huge revelation!**

 **HeartPirate: Aw, stop it, you're making me blush :D And don't worry, he will come back. Judar will always come back... or so I hope. I need spoilers! Waah! *cough* Yeah, this _manga_ will be the death of me. But I love it.**

 **Anon: Thank you! So much! I hope I can find the time because university starts next week and maybe I will be getting a job, but the worst thing that will happen to _Second Chance_ is the update rate slowing down to a chapter every two weeks. **

**Because I will drop the word limit from the next chapter on.**

 **Always more than eight pages (ca 4,000 words) for you to read! My fingers will kill me but this is so worth it!**

 **God, what a long AN. Sorry! I'm just so happy. *tries to bake more cookies to give them to everyone who followed and favorited*  
**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes because I do the correcting stuff on my own and English is not my native language.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 20: Living in Reim

Even though she had said that she had no trust in his inner clock Lenka was surprised how dead on time Muu visited in the morning, always half past eight, sometimes accompanied by Myron, Razol, Lolo or another member of the corps, sometimes alone to spent a few minutes at the breakfast table with Lenka and Miran. They sparred as well, sometimes with djinn equip, sometimes just with their swords. In her mind he was almost as good as Sharrkan and being that good meant he was insanely difficult to fight. Only with the help of her djinn she was able to win one mock battles out of five but with growing tendency.

He was a funny guy, caring and trying to make everyone happy, always there to try to stop a fight between Myron and Lolo just to get thrown into a wall or another brawl by accident. As a half-blood he wasn't as strong as the pure-bloods like Lolo but he always climbed out of the rubble with a wide smile to reassure the corps that nothing was broken or strained when they were all running towards him to ask if he was okay. Incredible loyal to Scheherazade, his family, friends and Reim. A golden Retriever. Or in this case a red one. She always wanted to grin when he raced towards an affray, shouting something about being nice to each other or not to damage the surroundings.

Almost two months had passed after Lenka and Miran had come to Reim and they had adapted to living with the corps, training, chatting and even found friends under the fighters, despite some of them were still wary of her, but that was fine with her as well. No need to befriend every single person in this universe.

One day it was solely Muu who knocked at the door, grinning so wide that he seemed to rival the sun in brightness.

"Good morning, Lenka. Have you planned something for today already?"

"I though of trying to start with Eligos again, I haven't found a way to equip her weapon yet," she answered while he sat down at the breakfast table. Miran smiled at him then concentrated on his porridge – he was building a tower – and Lenka continued to prepare something that seemed to be a snack for later.

"Just ask if you want something to eat as well."

The boy shook his head and mouthed 'don't.' Muu blinked and started to grin again.

"Thank you, but I've had breakfast already."

"Mr. Muu, did you need to eat porridge stuff to get this big?"

Lenka shot him a warning glare over her shoulder. Apparently they had been arguing over the porridge before he arrived.

"Sometimes," he answered, hoping not to get caught between the two factions. The blonde smiled thankful and nodded as Miran sighed and started to eat again. Muu chuckled then stood up and walked into the kitchen to see what exactly she was doing.

"Bread?"

"Sandwiches. Named after the earl of Sandwich."

"Is that so? Naming food after nobles..."

"There isn't something edible called Muu Alexius beside you yet. Only if you are a cannibal."

"I don't think a cannibal would manage to kill and cook me."

"They would need a big pot," Lenka chuckled and wrapped the sandwiches in a piece of cloth.

"Do you want to make me some for you as well? I have some ham and cheese left."

He shook his head then smiled sheepishly.

"I have free day today and wanted to ask if you were free as well. I could show you around the city or something like that."

Lenka blinked owlishly at him and almost dropped the sandwiches. Was there a hidden meaning to his words? Did he have a secret plan? Or maybe he innocently asked her without ulterior motives? Probably the last, she was sure that Muu wasn't that type of man...

"I'm sorry, if you are uncomfortable with it-"

"No, sorry, I was just thinking about what we could do," said the traveler with a hasty wave of her hand. She had been so immersed in her thoughts that she had completely ignored him and thus had been unable to see the growing discomfort in his face as she remained silent.

"I'd love to go to see the city with you, I mean, err..."

Luckily she wasn't the only one blushing by now. A loud clatter interrupted their awkward staring at everything but each other as Miran entered the kitchen to put his empty porridge bowl in the sink. She wondered when and where he had learned such a smirk, because it was a genuine, full grown, almost Sinbad-ish smirk he was wearing, a smirk that said 'I know what you're up to and want to see what you will do to keep me from knowing anything about it, he hee'.

"Don't worry about me, Marcus invited me over for dinner after training."

Marcus was one of the younger fanalis, maybe a year older than the boy who now gave her a quick hug, grabbed the package with the sandwiches then grinned at Muu.

"Have fun on your _date_ , you two. I think I can find my way to the training grounds alone. Bye!"

And thus he left the two adults gaping wide at his bluntness. Lenka felt her blush deepen as she glanced up to the man next to her.

"I don't know where he got that impression-"

"I'm sorry for-"

She had never thought that she was able of stuttering awkwardly like a lovesick middle schooler but life surely had a few nasty surprises up it's sleeve. Muu scratched the back of his head.

"Shall we go as well?"

Lenka quickly thought of changing into something more appropriate then dropped the idea; it wasn't like he hadn't seen her in different states of being clothed already, thanks to her djinn equips, so she nodded and smiled at him.

"Okay."

And another first time, she was actually _acting_ like a love-sick middle schooler, with all side effects: the blushing, the shy glances at the other and the awfully fast heartbeats. She had never experienced something this unsettling before and yet she was really giddy and happy that she finally did. She had been spared from romance and amorous affairs involving her and a member of the male species in her past world. The two boyfriends were more along the line of 'huh, you want me to go out with you? Okay. So what do we do? Bowling? Did you know that I can manage a strike with every throw?' Lenka-weirdness at it's best.

"Have you planned something?" Lenka asked after a few seconds in which they had walked away from her house. Muu grinned happily.

"I thought we could visit the arena this afternoon, heard Shambal's gladiator school has a new debutant. The crowd always gets more worked up when Reim's best sword fighter comes to watch. And I thought that you might want to talk with Shambal and Toto for a bit since you seemed close the day I met you."

She blinked surprised, caught between sighing at the thought of seeing a fight in the arena or smiling and thanking him for being so considerate then decided to go with the latter.

"Thanks, Muu. That's very nice."

"No problem, Lenka. I met Shambal yesterday and he told me that a new kid has arrived from Sindria and that Toto misses a good sparring."

She perked her ears up.

"Did you just say Sindria? It might be someone I now, especially when he starts as gladiator!"

 _Finally Alibaba is here! It took him so long!_

 _You took your time as well, Lenka. We lost a week in Eligos' dungeon. More than three months passed since you left Sindria, Oroba_ s reminded her. She nodded then sighed after quickly counting the time on her fingers.

"It's been a bit more than a year since I came to this world," she told Muu when noticing his curious glance. He smiled warmly at her then patted her back.

"Must be hard to be separated from your siblings this long."

"It really is, but I hope that time passes by differently in this and the other world, so they don't have to miss me as much as I do."

"You really love them, don't you?"

Lenka smiled ironically at him.

"Do you love Myron?"

He nodded.

"I do, even though she is straining sometimes."

"I bet she has a brocon. A brother-complex," she explained with a giggle as Muu frowned then smiled painfully.

"That seems to be a good explanation for her behavior. Look, we ave arrived."

The coliseum was as big as it was in her memory, but this time they didn't use the way down into the dungeon but rather climbed upstairs to a private balcony from which they could watch the whole sandy fighting ground. Lenka swallowed in anticipation. Hopefully this was really Alibaba who had come to Reim after all.

* * *

"Muu, please hold my hand."

He looked surprised but did as she asked him to do and winced as she squeezed tightly.

"I'm about to jump down and burn that creepy ape to crisps," she growled as they watched Alibaba getting smacked around by the giant Maurenian baboon. The crowd was cheering as if this was a really spectacle but Lenka was about to tear the whole place apart, melt it into a stinking puddle, burn it into cinders or crush it with her fists. Muu pulled her a bit further away from the railing and turned her face upwards with his free hand.

"You are not really a fan of fights in the arena. Sorry that I forgot that. We can go if it is too straining for you."

She could see the disappointment in his Rukh and shook her head while loosening her crushing grip on his poor fingers.

"It's not your fault. I'm just not comfortable with one of my friends getting beaten up by a giant scarred monkey. Especially not Alibaba."

Muu frowned a bit then let go of her hand.

"I see."

Lenka sighed and turned back to the pit.

"He's a crybaby and by far not as capable as the others. Mor is a fanalis and Aladdin... a freaking good mage. Alibaba was trying hard too meet their standards, especially when I joined them. We had the same fighting teacher in Sindria, and even though he is good he could only keep up with me when he tried hard. I believe he was comparing himself to me, which I think is ridiculous because I'm favored by the Rukh and he isn't. He's always doing his best and is still struggling – are those sickening people really screaming what I think they are screaming?"

Muu was instantly at her side again to hold her back as Garuda bit into Alibaba's arm. She was shaking violently and the marble railing cracked under her fingers.

"You fucking ape! I'll skin you alive and feed you to the hyenas if he dies!"

"Whoa, take it easy, Lenka, everything will be alright," Muu said and attempted to cover her eyes then quickly pulled his hand back; her skin was boiling hot and her fingers shimmered azure. Apparently she was subconsciously accessing her flame djinn's power in her fury.

"What is your favorite color?" he blurted out to get her attention away from the vicious sight. Lenka turned to him and tilted her head in confusion.

"That depends on how I feel. At the moment I would say purple. Why do you ask?"

"To keep you from jumping down and disemboweling Garuda," he answered honestly. She blinked then started to smile.

"That seems to work out well. Anything else you want to ask?"

"Would you like to eat something special afterwards?"

"You're working really quickly, aren't you?"

Muu smiled lazily and shrugged.

"That depends on what to gain. How big the prey is and my efforts to get it."

"Be careful, Muu. Sometimes the hunter becomes the hunted."

"Not unless the hunter makes a grave mistake."

"Mistakes can come fast, especially when the hunter gets careless, thinking he will succeed for sure."

"I am a good hunter. Carelessness is for beginners."

"Surely you are not a beginner," she grinned, crossed her arms and leaned with one shoulder against a pillar, well aware of the effect this particular pose had on her figure. Two could play that game. Tilting her head a tad more so that the sun caused her hair to shine like gold, batting her lashes, smiling a bit secretive, a promise of many more things he could get. Flirting with him was funny. Muu leaned against another pillar, mirrored her pose and smile.

"That's true."

 _Guys, get a room,_ Eligos chirped and wriggled her brows.

 _Solomon, Lenka, no!_ begged Orobas and the other djinn sighed. Gusion gagged him with a brownie.

 _Shut up and let her have some fun, Solomon knows when she will meet an acceptable guy again._

Lenka frowned at the comments of her djinn then walked back to the rail just to see Alibaba pierce the monkey's mouth with the broken spear of one of the decorative statues of soldiers.

"Yes! Go get that beast, Whinybaba!"

A shadow ghosted over Muu's features before he leaned against the railing again to see the blonde kid finish off Garuda, despite having a broken and bleeding arm then got distracted as Lenka jumped up and down in her excitement. His gaze lingered a bit longer on her chest area before he realized what he was doing and turned back to the boy. Solomon, he was becoming a teenager again. But his eyes returned to Lenka who was grinning wide at him, her cheeks flushed pink and her eyes sparkling so that they looked like fine gray steel.

"As much as I loathe people who like seeing others being tormented, I like seeing my friends win a fight."

"Is that so?"

"I wondered why the Rukh were making such a commotion, but now I know why," a soft voice stated dryly. The two dungeon capturers turned around to look at Scheherazade who entered the balcony, accompanied by at least ten soldiers. Muu bowed in front of the Magi while Lenka simply raised her right hand to her head and saluted.

"Lady Scheherazade."

The petite Magi sat down on a chair, the drop-shaped metal beads attached to her staff clinked together. She opened her eyes to blink at the traveler, her smile turning almost mischievously.

"It seemed your Rukh were the ones calling me here, Lenka."

"Maybe. A friend of mine just fought down there and I was about to jump into the battle as well. I don't like seeing my friends getting hurt when I could do something against that," she explained with a small smile and shrug then turned her head as she felt the Rukh stir again. The two kinds of _magoi_ inside Alibaba swirled around each other then fused to create a bigger entity, like when you were making a cake and mixed dough into a single heterogeneous mass. The spectators cheered even louder, unable to see the flutter of the white birds around the winner.

"Finally."

Scheherazade raised a fine brow.

"You were waiting for that?"

"Like I said, he's a friend I care for," the reply came with another shrug.

"But there is another reason why the Rukh guided you here, didn't they? Don't worry about me, Lady Scheherazade. The more cryptic my hints the better for the future."

She nodded friendly at the Magi then waved at Muu.

"I'll go down into the dungeons to see if I can speak to him already. No doubt you'll find me later. Have a nice chat."

She heard Scheherazade chuckle as she left the balcony and rushed down the staircases to get to the dungeon under the coliseum then remembered that there were guards blocking the way downstairs. She stopped for a second, thinking about what to do when someone patted her shoulder.

"It's Lenka, isn't it?"

"Toto!" she grinned and hugged the other woman.

"Glad to see you again!"

"Where you watching our new disciple's fight?"

"I was, Alibaba is a close friend of mine. I was so surprised and happy to see him. Can I meet him, can I?"

Toto nodded.

"Toto will lead the way, she has to bring Master bandages anyway."

This time they took another way than on the day when she had been the one to fight, which led to a small infirmary. Toto knocked and let Lenka hold the door open so she could enter first. Alibaba was sitting on a bed with white sheets, his face almost as pale as them while Shambal bandaged his arm. The boy's brown-golden eyes widened in surprise.

"Lenka?"

The traveler nodded and grinned.

"Yeah, it's me. I've seen your fight against the creepy ape. You have gotten better. Almost really good. How's the wound?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

He looked down at his arm as Shambal knotted two stripes of cloth together then stood up to greet her.

"Here is the famous girl who graduated after a single fight. How are you and Miran, Miss Lenka?"

"We're fine, thanks. He's currently training with the corps while I was invited to watch a fight. I was surprised that it was Alibaba and overjoyed, though. He is going to be a good fighter."

She smiled at the other blonde who blushed happily at the words.

"Thanks, Lenka. So you know Shambal and Toto already?"

"And a few others I assume."

Shambal laughed and patted her shoulder.

"We'll leave for a few minutes so you can talk for a bit, right?"

"Thanks," the two dungeon capturers said in unison. Alibaba stared at her until the door fell shut before speaking.

"How have you been after you left Sindria? And why did you have to leave? Your letter explained not very much we were all very worried. Kougyoku wasn't really a source of information either, she started giggling at a certain point and refused to say more."

Lenka sighed and sat next to him.

"You maybe heard that Judar dropped by?"

Alibaba nodded with a frown.

"Sinbad said you left with him."

"I did, Judar bribed me with the only dungeon I couldn't refuse. I mean, what rotten luck, there are seventy-two dungeons and he had to pick Orias? I managed to get away without becoming his chosen king vessel and future person he would spent the most time with, though.

Did Sinbad tell you I'd betrayed him?"

"He actually didn't even but he seemed to be pretty mad that you left," he confirmed. "So you have conquered your third dungeon?"

"And a fourth on the way to Remano," Lenka confessed with a grin that caused him to scowl at her.

"Seriously? You get four djinn and I still haven't mastered Amon! How unfair's that?"

"I bet you will after a bit training with Shambal and the other Yambala. Did he tell you that I've graduated after only one fight as a gladiator?"

"You are so unfair!" Alibaba yelled and tried to hit her with his good hand. She giggled the pulled off the forearm protector to show him her scar.

"I got hurt as well, a dagger pierced me. Not as impressive as baboon teeth marks, though. Make sure they don't get infected or your arm will turn black and rot away in two days.

"I see you still have that odd humor of yours, even though your accent has gotten a lot better," he deadpanned. The traveler ruffled his hair in return, much to his embarrassment and anger.

"Please tell me what happened in Zagan! I've been dying for news about you lot. I guess Hakuryuu got him, didn't he?"

Alibaba nodded surprised then summed up the last months, from the dungeon capture and their teachers' fight against the black metal vessel users, the curse he and Sinbad got hit with and Ithnaan's death to the pirate crew and their leader they had defeated, Hakuryuu's silent disappearance and finally, the reason why he had been so late.

"One of the robbers talked about a poorly covered, fire breathing mermaid," Alibaba said with a suspicious grin. "Was that perhaps you?"

"I sank a few ships on my travel to Reim, yes," Lenka answered unmoved then told him her story. He was almost jumping in his excitement after she finished.

"So you have gotten into the fanalis corps? You are really amazing. Maybe you can introduce me to some of them!"

"Maybe," said Lenka then stood up as someone knocked at the door then Muu opened.

"Lenka? Are you done?"

She smiled then nodded and pointed with her hand at the two men.

"Alibaba, meet Muu Alexius, captain of the Reim fanalis corps. Muu, this is my good friend Alibaba Saluja, who trained under the same master as me back in Sindria."

Muu stepped inside to shake hands with the younger.

"I've seen your fight. It was pretty good."

"Thanks," Alibaba answered and blushed a little then seemed a bit confused as the fanalis stared at him a little longer then turned back to the woman.

"Shall we go then? There is a lot more I want to show you."

 _Oh, yes, please, Eligos wants to see more of you as well,_ the djinn drooled. Gusion facepalmed at her co-djinn's lecherous behavior.

… _why. Why? Why are all of you perverts? Sans Miran._

 _Hey!_ The twins protested. Lenka smiled warmly at Muu and continued to ignore the yelling in the back of her head.

"Sure you will. Alibaba, I'll try to visit you soon. Rest a bit and then the arm won't rot off."

"... okay, bye," he answered and frowned as the other man placed his hand on Lenka's lower back to guide her outside then remembered he should have screamed at her for the comment on his arm. Too late.

Shambal and Toto were waiting for them to come out, the old Yambala instantly grinned as he saw the two dungeon capturers so close. Muu instantly took his hand from her back and shot the man a warning glare. Shambal chuckled into his mustache and turned to Lenka.

"So, lass, did you thought about fighting in the arena again? You could have a magnificent career, you know?"

She shook her head with disgust.

"Never again, Shambal. I'd rather conquer a dungeon with a wooden sword or play a stripping card game with Judar than to get back to being a gladiator. No offense, it might be the right thing fore some, but not for me."

"A pity. I won quite the sum with betting."

"Alibaba is good as well, as soon as he's healed up," she said, not noticing the flicker in Muu's eyes. The two Yambala did, Shambal chuckled again then went into the room, not without patting Muu's shoulder.

"You have a hard way, lad."

Both dungeon capturers stared at him in confusion and surprise as well as growing embarrassment. The blonde shrugged, old man getting senile, then hugged Toto.

"Nice to see you again. I will drop by the school soon to talk with Alibaba. There is a lot he has to inform me about."

"Bye! And good luck, you two," Toto grinned then followed Shambal inside. Lenka frowned then glanced at Muu.

"Do you know what she meant? Or Shambal? Do they know about Magnostadt?"

He shook his head, looking as confused as she felt but he was blushing slightly.

"No idea. Where do you know?"

"I know man things," she answered mysteriously as they climbed up the stairs.

"You don't make things easy. By the way, do you want to eat something?"

"As long as you find a sufficient place, yes," she answered and blinked in the blinding sunlight that waited for them outside the dungeon.

"I'm good with anything edible, thanks to travelling on my own without knowing how to cook properly. And thank you."

"For what?"

"For spending your day with me, of course. I'm sure that there are things you wanted to do but instead you showed me around so, yeah, thanks."

"It was a pleasure, but the day isn't over yet," Muu said with a wide grin.

"There are many things left I want to show you."

"Hey, no indecent offers in broad daylight," joked the blonde and nudged his arm while a squealing Eligos returned to Fangirl heaven.

"You are not Sinbad."

"Sinbad made you indecent offers?" he asked with a frown.

"A few, but I managed to turn him down every time. He isn't labeled the 'Ladykiller of the Seven Seas' for nothing, but I think I'm out of his league."

"And that Alibaba?"

Lenka rolled her eyes.

"He's too much of a sissy, he'll die before he get's his first girlfriend. I bet he is somehow afraid of me, deep down in his fragile heart he is scared of me and me bullying him. So scared he would never go against me as I know things that could make him squeal like a little girl in embarrassment."

She was unaware of Muu's steps becoming a bit lighter, his smile less forced and brighter after her statement.

* * *

Muu treated her to some local cuisine at one of the many food stalls on the broad streets in the city center before continuing to show her the sights beside the coliseum, thermae – the public baths the ancient Romans had as well, just that the ones here were not in ruins and well-visited –, pillars and arches in which the history of the Reim empire was carved in and a statue of the first dungeon capturer Scheherazade chose, Pernadius Alexius. He knew some funny and utterly ridiculous stories about his ancestor which left them both laughing so much that Lenka started to hiccup.

They had been having a great day, he even guided her to Miran's friend's house to fetch him home. It seemed that Marcus' mother, Inara, was fond of the boy, as he was another fanalis and a sweet child and asked her if he could visit more often. This bothered Lenka somehow, Miran had become a part of her extended family and she liked having him around.

And another thing made her think, the way Muu reacted to Alibaba. Was he jealous? And if so, why would he be? There was nothing between Alibaba and her, except her constant teasing and jibes. Was there more between Muu and her than she realized? Granted, he was handsome in a way that was entirely fanalis and yet completely his own. The tall, muscular frame, the aristocratic face with the slanted fanalis eyes that shone like rubies when he smiled, the absolutely gorgeous hair... she was turning into a fangirl. Or Eligos. Or rather, she had been a fangirl all the time but now her sanity was slowly but surely deteriorating.

"Lenka, you are spilling."

Miran broke her daze and handed her a towel to wipe away the egg mixture she needed for an omelet.

"Sorry, Miran."

Luckily she hadn't been drooling, that would have been really embarrassing.

"Seriously, what's on your mind? You've been like that since Muu left an hour ago," he chided then took the frying pan from her.

"I'll do the rest. You would just burn it. So, what's the problem?"

Lenka sighed and sat on a chair then leaned back against the wall so that she was balancing on two legs.

"Well, I think..."

She told him what Alibaba said about Hakuryuu and the dungeon conquest while eating dinner. Reading the adventure had been great, but knowing that she was part of this world and that she could get hurt or even die any day was a whole other thing. Training was for her to survive, eating something not a nuisance and the games she played were not computer games where she could always press a button to heal herself or sip a potion. No, in the game she played here a mistake couldn't be solved by loading the last saved data.

Miran shrugged then climbed on her lap to get hugged. He was growing bigger now, but was still a hand smaller than Aladdin when she had seen him before he departed to Zagan. Such an adorable child... Henry stopped hugging her when he was eight, a rebellious phase that Miran hopefully would never have. He should stay this size for the next months.

"You can visit them, right? To speak about their problems and such."

"As far as I know Hakuryuu will kill Alibaba in the future."

She had probably a year until that day, maybe a bit more time, but the more she thought about the day when the white and black kings and their Magi were going to fight was definitely drawing nearer. A way to prevent this disaster would be to keep Hakuryuu from falling into depravity, but for that she had to convince him and Judar to kill Gyokuen after he had settled his dispute with Kouen.

Lenka sighed again and leaned her head against the cool stone.

"I'm not sure what to do in the future. I have to change destiny, but how do I do that?"

"Going to sleep now and think tomorrow again," Miran suggested with a yawn and snuggled into her shoulder.

"That would be the best."

 _We are with you, Lenka,_ Orobas murmured gently and she felt the presence of her djinn wrap around her like a blanket.

 _Wherever you will go, we will be by your side._

* * *

The following day Scheherazade invited her over again, or rather ordered Lenka to move her ass to the temple of the Sacerdos Maxima, who obeyed as she already knew at the example of Sinbad how disastrous it could get if you got on a Magi's bad side. A servant led her into a spacious private room with several shelves, tapestries, frescoes and chandeliers where the petite blonde was waiting for her, sitting behind a rather huge desk on which scrolls were piled up to small mountains, very similar to Ja'far's office in Sindria, except that Scheherazade had to do the work all alone. A heavy task, even for a Magi.

Lenka bowed then waited for the other to look up, recognize and connote her to sit on a wooden chair. The Magi sighed then leaned back to watch her.

"You know that Magnostadt is threatening our borders?"

The traveler nodded earnestly.

"I do."

Scheherazade sighed again.

"That makes things easier, and by Solomon, Reim needs every help it can get. You don't know how much breath I have saved now by not having to explain things again."

"I have a rough impression," said Lenka with another nod.

"May I ask if you have received more intelligence from your spy?"

"Sadly he wasn't fulfilling his deeds well enough. I wanted you to meet my new agent before he departs in the evening."

In the same minute someone knocked and a boy with the same golden hair and lithe frame as Scheherazade entered, almost identical to her if not for the gender. His green-blue eyes were big and innocent when Titus Alexius beheld her then he remembered his instructions and bowed.

"Lady Scheherazade, you requested my presence?"

She nodded then touched her staff leaning at the table.

"Titus, this is Marlene-Karen Sensenmacher, quadruple dungeon capturer and currently training with Muu and Ignatius."

Titus' mouth formed an 'o' as he stared at her then his eyes started to sparkle with unasked questions.

"Marlene-Karen, this is Titus, clone of mine, adopted by the Alexius family."

He flinched when he was introduced so roughly but Lenka was grinning at him already. Titus was another character she had wanted to meet and she was happy that she had the opportunity before he would become a Magi.

"Nice to meet you, Titus. Please call me Lenka. I hope we can get along well."

"Lenka might become one of your contacts in the future as I might send her as ambassador to the east. You may share the information you will obtain with her as well."

 _Ambassador! How interesting. I wonder what else she has planned for you,_ Orobas mused and scanned the Magi through Lenka's eyes.

 _Hopefully I don't have to spy as well. I'm not very inconspicuous._

 _So we have noticed,_ his twin smiled while the boy bowed again.

"As you wish, my Lady."

"Titus, you should show her the gardens," Scheherazade said, or rather ordered. Lenka hummed in agree and stood up then smiled at the Magi.

"Your _son_ looks just like you. You should be proud of what he will become one day."

Scheherazade's eyes flew open and she stared at the traveler who raised a finger to her lips.

"This is a request of mine for the future, a ray of hope in the darkness that will fall over the world."

"... are you probably gazing at the same scene as Yunan?"

"Maybe. Good luck with your work, my Lady."

She smiled brightly at Titus who blushed. Apparently he wasn't familiar with people smiling, or rather, females smiling at him. How adorable.

"Shall we go?"

"Yes, if you would please follow me."

The huge wooden door closed behind them and Lenka sighed as the tension in her shoulder disappeared. Talking with Magi who weren't Aladdin was always straining. Luckily Scheherazade was not as difficult as Judar. But she had yet to meet Yunan...

She noticed that Titus was staring at her and slightly tilted her head.

"Excuse me, were you asking me something? I was thinking... "

"The gardens are in this direction," he said and pointed along the hallway. The dungeon capturer nodded and followed him into the inner parts of the temple into the gardens which only the priests living here and Scheherazade's favorites could enter. Guards were bowing at their sight, something Lenka found extremely confusing, even though it was a gesture she should be familiar with. The palace guards in Sindria had bowed in front of her as well.

Titus sat down on a bench from where they could look over the whole site. She hummed contended and stretched her arms, admiring the shining of her metal vessels in the light as well as the water in a fountain.

"This is a beautiful spot. I'm sure you can spend hours here."

He nodded and fixate her biceps rings.

"Are those djinn metal vessels? I have yet to see more but those jewels you're wearing are probably all djinn containers, right?"

"They are, except the earrings. There are not many dungeon capturers – scratch that, there are quite a lot, but most of them are from the upper class. Kou has six vessel users and they all belong to the royal family. Two of them, Kougyoku and Hakuryuu are friends of mine, or so I could say. The vessel users of the Seven Seas alliance are all either kings or queens of their respective countries. And here in Reim they serve Scheherazade."

Titus nodded in agree.

"I know that much already. I was born to serve the empire after all."

"But it's important to know as much as you can about other countries as you might have to deal with them. I know quite a bit, feel free to ask."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say as Titus took this as invitation to rapidly fire questions at her.

"How is the outside world like? What kind of beings are living there? Have you seen rain? I want to see rain one day. And a storm! Storm clouds! Black storm clouds! Rainbows! And the sea! I really want to see the sea. Is it true that the water is salty? And if so, why is it salty? I really wonder about this."

Absolutely. Cute. His eyes were bright and sparkled and his cheeks were flushed. Titus was nearly jumping in anticipation and Lenka's inner fangirl demanded to keep him forever and ever after as he was just such a cutie and so innocent and absolutely adorable. He would make a good older brother for Miran. She grinned at him then raised her hands and the stream of questions stopped as he stared with wide eyes at her.

"One question after another, I have only one mouth to answer. So, the first was about the world outside? That's a tricky one.

The world is big. There are endless desert on the eastern continent, so hot your feet burn when you walk without shoes and the air creates mirages. Many travelers have died when they were unable to find an oasis or were robbed. There are many animals and plants there which are accustomed to the rough living conditions as it seldom rains. But there are large fields of ice in the high north as well, the sun never sets for half a year on the pole, and the other half year there is night. Then you can see the northern lights, turquoise and green and pink and blue veils up in the sky, fluttering and changing like curtains in the wind. The rain freezes and comes down as snow, white flakes that are cold and melt on warm skin. Snowstorms are not uncommon and can last for days until it piles so high up that you have to dig yourself free, which is extremely dangerous if you're cut off from air."

 _Can you do images,_ _Orias?_

 _Of course._

In the palms of her hands a small black hole appeared that slowly changed color until it showed a frozen plain. Orias took the pictures from her memories as she had seen a lot of documentaries with her younger siblings. Titus' amazed face was absolutely worth it and he continued to marvel as Gusion decided to control the water in the air to let it snow for him. And Lenka continued to tell him about the world outside, described the island vegetation of Sindria, the bustling streets of the desert cities, the vast ocean she had crossed and the dangers of her dungeons, but what interested him most was the daily life of people outside the temple walls, what they were doing and how they were acting. So she gave him a quick lecture of what to do and what not to do in public, hoping that he would not develop the same perverted quirks as Aladdin and would not act as spoiled as Judar.

She couldn't tell how many hours she had spent talking, describing and explaining – Titus' questions were becoming more and more abstract after a while so that she had to elaborate on them and remember her school knowledge as well. They were in the middle of a discussion about appropriate behavior after she had mentioned Aladdin studying in Magnostadt and his habit to feel people up, thus leading to her explaining the rules of interaction with girls, focusing especially on what not to do, when someone touched her shoulder. Lenka turned around and smiled at Muu.

"Hey. Were you looking for me?"

"Actually I was," he nodded then looked at the boy.

"Titus."

"Lord Muu," the answer came with a bow as Titus had jumped from the bench instantly. Lenka blinked at both of them then snapped her fingers.

"Alexius!"

They looked at her in confusion and she rolled her eyes.

"I just remembered that you have the same surname. How are you related? Are you perhaps brothers by now?"

Muu frowned and shor a glance at Titus who looked up to the big man with a similar expression.

"Cousins I would say, but I'm not very sure either."

"I don't have much information on this matter either," the mage agreed and shrugged apologetically.

"My apologies."

"Doesn't matter, I was just curious."

Lenka stood up as well and stretched herself then blinked a few times for the black blotches in her sight to disappear.

"I guess it's time to say farewell. Thank you very much for your knowledge, Miss Lenka."

Titus stretched his hand out for her to shake and yelped in surprise when she hugged him instead.

"Good luck, Titus, both with your job and the studies. I hope you will have a great time."

His Rukh started to tint slightly pink so she released him and raised her finger.

"Remember what I said about talking to people, preparing for tests and then you won't have bigger problems than the tasks given to you by Scheherazade. Don't try to be so obvious when snooping around, and try to plan your actions in beforehand and get yourself some plausible excuses. And take the next hour to get something to prevent sea-sickness."

Titus nodded earnestly.

"I will do my very best."

"Good boy."

Lenka gave him a peck on the cheek and petted his hair one last time.

"Greet my brother Aladdin when you see him."

He blushed bright pink then nodded furiously. Lenka hugged him again then waved as she left the gardens with Muu. After a few meters she noticed that he was almost burning a hole in her temple with his intense staring and tilted her head in confusion.

"I something the matter?"

"Nothing serious. You were very nice to him."

"Everyone deserves a happy life filled with kindness, no matter how short it is," she answered with a small smile.

"But not many can actually live like this. The wold is full of unfairness and crimes. I'm here to make sure that they won't take over."

He nodded in agree and brushed his hair back.

"I serve Lady Scheherazade to achieve the same, to make Reim a save place where people can live without worries. Titus will contribute to the peace of the empire."

"I've never questioned that, Muu. It's just... I feel a bit sorry for him. He's a good child, like Miran and my other younger friends, which I have mentally adopted pnto my family. It's a habit of mine. I like to take care of people like him, even though it doesn't look like that very often."

Muu smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You are a good person, Lenka."

She closed her eyes for a second and sighed deeply.

"Do you wish to be someone else sometimes?"

He shrugged then looked ahead before his expression became clouded.

"That's difficult. Sometimes I wish but them I'm glad for who I am and what I've become, or else I wouldn't have been able to change so many lives. To save them. Do you?"

Lenka sighed again.

"Yeah. Back home I almost constantly wished for that. It has gotten better since I got into the dungeon and started anew but here, in the maw of politics and conspiracies which is being a dungeon capturer of Reim it's hard to maintain my position."

 _And because he's getting close to you._

 _Gusion._

 _Titus reminds you of your past. A being who is used for greater good. But he will become a Magi, and you have been brought here._

 _But for what price?_

The djinn shrouded herself in silence again.

"I agree with you. It's not easy for me either, even though I know Scheherazade since I was a boy. We fanalis are still a bit of social outcasts, even though the founding of the corps has changed much. They seem to look at my ancestor, my lineage and then at me. Sometimes I can still see their discomfort."

Lenka took his hand and squeezed his fingers a bit to give him comfort.

"I know. I experienced pretty much the same."

Muu hummed and squeezed back.

"Are you hungry? You've been talking to Titus for quite a long time."

"Actually I'm starving," she confessed with a cheeky grin.

"He was interested in everything and his questions would never come to an end. I pity his teachers already."

"I just hope he won't cause Lady Scheherazade more problems than we already have."

 _Oh, you have no idea, Muu._

 _My queen, may I remind you that you're still holding hands?_

 _!... he won't let go. What should I do?! Oh my god people are staring at us! Oh Solomon, please let go please... wait, did he plan that? AAAAAAAHHH what should I do?!_

… _well done, my padawan,_ Gusion said to Orias who gave her a high five while grinning wide. Apparently they had watched Lenka's memories of _Star Wars_ and learned quite a lot about plotting, scheming and manipulation as well as interesting references.

… _Eligos, you owe me cookies. Again. And I know when you forget to put chocolate chip inside and then try to glue them on later. And I know that you were smelling the glue afterwards. I know everything. The force is with me._

 _Eligos doesn't know what you're talking about_ , the djinn chirped and giggled at the growing uneasiness of Lenka, the pleased smile on Muu's face and Orobas sharpening his claws with fierce determination. She absolutely loved the homely feeling of chaos around her. Maybe she should have become a spirit of chaos instead of tactics. But why was everyone borrowing favors from her? Shouldn't it be the other way round? She should have really applied for becoming a spirit of chaos and manipulation.

* * *

 **Da da da daa, chapter 20! Almost twice as long at the last chapter. All because you think the story is awesome! 75 favorites! Here, cookies for you! *Tries to give everyone a cookie***

 **So many reviews for chapter 19 again! I'm so happy! You are absolutely great! fantastic! *starts baking again***

 **Guest: Just wait, the story will continue for a few more months. I have great plans... great plans for sure... *evil cackle***

 **Eden: Thank you! Orobas is just so damn possessive of everyone he likes. At the moment his top priority is Lenka, followed by Miran and his twin. He just wants the best for them... or something like that. Being the overprotective big brother that he is...**

 **Nemeria: I once read _Attack on Titan_ after nightfall and couldn't sleep four hours afterwards... bad idea. **

**Yep, Eligos is bad at household chores but can make very interesting art projects. Her favorites are voodoo dolls and working with papier mâché as well as drawing with black markers on the faces of her sleeping friends. Many have woken up with obscene symbols, insults or games of tic tac toe on their cheeks the next morning...**

 **You're right, people should freak out at her being from another world, but many hear her accent and think its just an expression for living very, very far away. If they would ask her to explain they would freak out for sure. And Eligos does her charming thing on them so that they won't grow suspicious.**

 **I hope this is enough Titus for now. Such a cutie. His reactions to cats are the same as mine.**

 **Miran is nine years old and about 1,45 m or 4'9". He's having growth spurts at the moment due to being fed well because Lenka can't cook and they are often eating out.**

 **toolazytologin: I know! I told her that I didn't want to write a _Twilight_ -triangle but what does she do? Argh! Her resolve not to fall in love is wavering... I'm beginning to feel like Orobas...**

 **Fern: That's good, because the story will continue. I'm planning to write about 50 chapters. I'm almost at the middle... ambitious is an understatement. The story line is done so I just need to write the chapters... easier said than done now that I've abolished the word limit for the chapters... so many words to type...**

 **Oh my, this is going to be huge. But thanks to your support _Second Chance_ will be uploaded next Sunday again. Wait for it...**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes because I do the correcting stuff on my own and English is not my native language.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 21 Asking the same question for weeks (and getting no answer except pitying looks)

"No training today," Muu told Lenka one morning as they were having breakfast. She made a questioning sound around her mouthful of bread and tilted her head while Miran pouted.

"The two of you often skip training, don't you?"

"This time the whole corps will skip, because I will be fighting in the arena. Sometimes the current best fighter of the Empire has to display his skills for the people to assure them that they can't find someone better to protect them."

"And who will you be fighting? And how many?"

Miran's excited smile was in conflict with Lenka's deepening frown until the boy noticed it and slowly secured his bacon and scrambled eggs. Muu on the other hand didn't notice and answered with a wide smile.

"Your friend Alibaba has asked for a match. Don't worry, I won't hurt him too much, the fight will end when he yields. It'll be fun after I have fought you, as you have learned under the same master and the two of us are sparring rather often. I wonder how different your styles are..."

Miran made a beeline for the stairs when her frown turned into a smile, causing the other fanalis to look at the smoking trail in confusion, then at Lenka, and finally he realized that he should have either been silent about this, acting innocent or apologizing by now. Or running, like Miran.

"Is something wrong? Too salty?"

"No," she answered and the chill in her voice gave him goosebumps. This was a tone he knew well from his childhood, his mother had used it when he had been doing something particularly stupid.

"Just why do you _think_ _fighting_ _him_ in the _arena_ is a _good_ idea?"

The way she put weight in some of the words she seemed to think of as especially important was almost the same as well. Muu decided that apologizing was the better way to deal with this. He loved life too much to die now.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't know I had to ask you for permission first."

Somehow this was the wrong thing to say again, as the temperature in her eyes fell again. Luckily she had no ice-djinn, or else he would have been turned into an icicle this very moment.

"I'm really sorry."

Lenka sighed and placed her knife next to her platter and the cold aura disappeared.

"Men. At least you have the excuse that you have to prepare for war. Being a soldier and such. I can't forget the way I was raised. No sane would suggest to fight in front of a few hundred blood-thirsty spectators with sharp – sharp! – swords to boot. Swords are meant to rust in museums, not used in wars."

"So what do you use then?" he asked interested, glad to move away from the dangerous minefield that was the upcoming match against Alibaba.

"Weapons similar to the magic devices the pirates have, only that they use rounds for ammo and have various types of guns and munition – I noticed that you're trying to distract me."

Muu flinched and grinned, caught red-handed.

"Really, Lenka, what is your problem with us crossing swords?"

Her face blanked for a few seconds then she blushed bright red, yelped and jumped from her chair as if she had made a shocking discovery to pace back and forth, shook her head very fast, ruffled her hair, her mouth moved but no word came out. Maybe she was talking to her djinn or thinking, either way he found it really funny to watch. He had seen Myron behaving very similar when her imagination was running wild with interesting speculations.

"Do what you want," she murmured after a while and snatched the tableware to bring it into the kitchen, not looking at him directly. He was confused again – did he have permission to fight Alibaba now or not?

Miran peeked around the wall, waved at him, sneaked back into the room to place his plate on the table then whispered:

"Translated this means 'you're an idiot for going to fight him, I'm really angry now'."

He snickered at the man's surprised face.

"My mom used to tell my father the same when he did something like that. Don't worry, she still likes you."

"Miran, my hearing was good from the beginning, the fact that I'm not a fanalis doesn't mean that I'm deaf," Lenka's voice came from the kitchen and the two red-heads flinched guiltily.

* * *

And so she was back in the spectator area of the arena, a place she avoided to visit like the devil avoided holy water and Miran porridge and vegetables. This time Lenka was sitting with the fanalis corps in one of the lower ranks with Razol on her one side and the boy on the other to stop her if she would try to interfere. During the wait fir the fight Lenka tried to remember when in the original storyline of _Magi_ the fight between Muu and Alibaba had happened but her memories had become really gibberish and vague. Maybe her being in this world had changed more than she feared already, since she was more or less a walking spoiler.

"Oh! Oh, it's starting! There he is!"

Muu walked through the gate into the arena, grinning and waving at the spectators while the announcer summed up his past victories and deeds. He was clearly liked by the crowd, Lenka spotted a few young women squealing in admiration and frowned irritated. So he had fangirls, what was the matter with that? Okay, he had fangirls throwing flowers before the fight had even started. Like a rock star. Except that he was fighting and not singing. Don't imagine him in leather pants... too late. Damn, this was a good image.

Orobas made a strangled sound in the back of her mind while Eligos agreed with her.

"And the other combatant, the Shambal School's Alibaba!"

Alibaba had fangirls as well. Now that was more than weird, and she was a master of weird situations. It was almost frightening.

Muu and Alibaba bowed then drew their swords.

"Fight!"

The crowd cheered and the sound of swords clashing almost drowned in the noise when the the fighters started their attacks. Lenka was relived that Alibaba had gotten better since their training in Sindria, dungeon capturings and intense battles in the arena as well as straining sessions of sparring with other gladiators did wonders. He was so good now that she was almost thinking that he had been going easy on her when they had been sparring under Sharrkan's sharp gaze, his movement was fluid and his style was not simply royal Balbaddian style any longer, but a mixture of - she couldn't describe it another way - awesomeness. She would have never thought she would ever think of Alibaba's sword fighting as awesome. He was growing up so fast.

"The kid is good," Razol whistled in appreciation and inhaled sharply as Alibaba's sword grazed Muu's arm and a small red line appeared on the tanned skin.

"Whoa. Really good. Under which rock was he hiding?"

"He's from Balbadd but lived in Sindria for the last months," Lenka answered through gritted teeth.

"He's her pet, Alibaba," Miran told the scarred woman who laughed at the words.

"Your pet? Really? Oh Solomon, I'd love to hear the story behind that."

"Maybe some day."

This was torture. Both of them were good, really good and watching the fight was nerve-wracking to an extend where her fists were clenched so tight that the knuckles were white and the nails were painfully digging into her palms. Every move, every parry, step, attack they were making was almost blurred so fast was the exchange of blows. Both were bleeding now from several shallow wounds, Muu was grinning wide in his excitement while Alibaba frowned concentrated. She wanted nothing more than to jump down and stop them before one of them would slip or make a mistake and get his hand or arm or leg or head cut off or get stabbed in the guts or the heart-

 _Hey, Lenka, there's no need to watch them, talk with us! I'm lonely,_ Orobas complained and her inner tension subsided.

 _Sure. What are you doing at the moment?_

 _I'm mourning the times when it was only the two of us wandering around Balbadd. That was funny._

 _Even though Judar was there?_

 _Grr, I still need to punch him. Perverted girly brat._

 _You know, I think of traveling to Kou before the Magnostadt war begins. I promised Kougyoku I would._

 _Sure. Just grab Miran and then we can take off. You're not safe with this guy around._

 _Now you're overreacting,_ Lenka chuckled and touched the pendant through her scarf.

 _Actually I think he's got a point there,_ Orias said and frowned at the frying pan he was holding.

 _You don't need a man in your life now. He will distract you._

… _we have crossed the point of no return already,_ Gusion murmured and flipped to the next page of her book. Lenka frowned as well.

 _What do you mean?_

 _Nothing, Lenka. Nothing, really._

 _Do you want to see what Eligos does in her free time?_

 _What do you do?_

The djinn grinned and held a picture of the twins into the air. Actually, not really a picture in the actual sense, more along the lines of...

 _You do perverted fan art of the twins? Eligos!_ Lenka gasped and shook her head at Miran who watched her curiously. Eligos nodded with a squeal.

 _It's so great living with them! So many opportunities! And look, I don't need to invent that much! Look what Orias is wearing!_

 _Only because you stole my other apron!_ Orias growled and flipped a pancake.

…

… _you should wear nothing under that apron._

 _You can cook your lunch all alone, I'm quitting!_ he yelled and ripped the pink frilly apron away and stomped on it to strengthen his position then glared at the others, an unholy light shining from his silver eyes.

The cheer of the crowd ripped her out of the scene and Lenka looked down into the arena. Muu and Alibaba were shaking hands, apparently the fight was over. And she missed quite a bit due to her chat with her djinn. But the sight of Orias in that apron had been more than worth it. She could almost understand Eligos' craze with the twins.

Razol nudged her shoulder.

"We're waiting outside for Captain, are you coming, too?"

Lenka shrugged and stood up.

"I think I will look after Alibaba, too."

"Good luck, normal people have hardly chances to get into the dungeons."

Luckily she had luck and met Toto again. The gladiator was always there when you needed her. Lenka decided she should visit more often and bring her goodies until Toto asked:

"So how far has your relationship progressed? Alibaba wouldn't tell Toto a thing."

The blonde leaned a bit away to look at her in disbelief.

"Whose relationship with whom? Me and the biscuits? Eternal love I'd say."

"Yours and Captain Muu's of course."

Toto sighed at the blank stare from Lenka.

"So Toto guesses you're not together yet."

" _Why should we be together?"_

"Toto didn't know you could shriek like that. Interesting."

"Why, Toto, why? Where did you hear that rumour?"

Now it was the gladiator who stared blankly at the other woman.

"He behaved like you were the last time you were here. Did Toto misunderstand something?"

"YES."

"Aw. What a pity. You would have been a cute couple."

"NO Way iN hEll."

"Toto realizes you have problems seeing the obvious," she sighed and led her to the single room where the doctors were working on the fighters already. Alibaba waved as he spotted the two women.

"Hey, Toto, Lenk-oww!"

"What were you thinking, fighting each other," she hissed and rubbed her fist into his scalp after giving him a clout then glared at Muu who had the nerve to chuckle.

"And you. I should braid your hair and decorate it with white flowers for your idiocy."

"Thanks for caring about us, but I assure you, we are fine. And I like my hair the way it is."

"Grr!"

Lenka shook her fist in front of his face.

"You are so lucky you're hurt or I would drag you to the training grounds and wipe the floor with you, Muu. And that would hurt like a motherf- uhm, you know what I mean, because I would use djinn equip. I died at least three times up there when watching your fudged up attempt to prove your manliness! Tell me you're sorry for trying to kill me through stupid sword-fighting! I'm so, so, argh! Angry! Fudge!"

Alibaba snickered.

"You know, the Lenka I knew would never stop in the mid of a curse."

"The Lenka you knew wasn't single mother to a nine year old who loves to learn new things, especially fighting and recipes, and big sister not only to Valerie and Henry but to Morgiana and Aladdin as well!"

"And what am I?"

"Pet-baba the dog," Lenka deadpanned then started laughing at his face. Screaming was always a good way to deal with agressions.

"You know, I didn't get the name of your kid's father," Alibaba mused with a grin then yelped in horror as she turned towards him with a frightening smile.

"Did you say something Alibaba?"

"Toto says Muu could be the father, Miran's a fanalis," Toto said teasingly then flinched as the smile was directed towards her now. Lenka sighed, shook her head then looked at Muu.

"I have terrible friends, don't you-"

He was looking directly at her, a hungry expression in his eyes that caused a pleasant shiver to run down her spine. Lenka felt a blush rising to her cheeks at the intensity of his gaze before he closed his eyes and smiled.

"I hope this counts me as well."

She blinked surprised – had she been seeing right? - then shrugged.

"I think so. If you want to be my friend. We're spending hours every day together, don't we?"

"That's true."

Toto facepalmed with a sigh.

"You're hopeless."

* * *

 _Guys, I have a question. Do you think that Muu fancies me?_

Eligos and Gusion shot her _incredibly_ pitying looks, Orias raised a scroll to cover his blushing face and Orobas seemed to deliberate if he should cry in desperation or get a voodoo to work.

… _seriously? Lenka, I don't know how you can be so clever and yet so dense,_ Gusion sighed after a few seconds.

 _Eligos agrees with her._

 _Hey! Now do you think he is or he isn't? That's crucial!_

 _Eligos won't tell you anything._

… _You have to find it out yourself._

"Great. Since when did you behave like complete gits I wonder?" Lenka murmured and stretched her arms. She was almost stiff from sitting cross-legged on a bench next to the training grounds, her sword balanced on her knees and her hands had been placed loosely on the hilt and the sheath. Once in a while she would withdraw from sparring and meditate to talk with her djinn as they had great ideas how to use her power in an actual battle. And a battle was sure to come.

Lenka was sure that it might be less than ten months to the war with Magnostadt and the following battle against the medium and only a bit more than a year to the day X. The last chapter of _Magi_ she remembered to have read was the one where Aladdin had pushed Judar into outer space and Alibaba had died after Hakuryuu chopped him with the Belial-equip.

The question how to change this future had followed her the last week like an annoying fly, always buzzing in the back of her head and persistent as bubble gum at the sole of a shoe. Thinking about it made her feel hope- and powerless, thus she either started to brood in isolation with occasional questions directed to her djinn, sorted her treasure or trained like mad with the fanalis corps, much to their joy and confusion. And so another problem had formed, or rather it had been present for a longer time. Said problem just walked over to her, grinning wide so that many white teeth were shown.

 _Happy puppy. If he had a tail he would wag it now,_ Lenka mused and smiled up at Muu.

"Hey. How's the weather up there?"

"Sunny, even though the wind is a bit cold," he joked and sat down as well.

"Have you heard of the founder's feast coming up? It's a big party every year, we celebrate the founding of Reim Empire through Remus several hundred years ago. We of the fanalis corps decided to go to a tavern in the inner city this time as the place we celebrated last year is still under construction."

"I think I can guess what happened. It sounds similar to the Sindrian maharaghan, doesn't it? It's the harvest festival there, the whole island celebrates when a southern sea creature is slain by the generals. Huge beasts, but very tasty. I participated in dances both times. It's absolutely fantastic. So many pretty girls, good food and barrels with the best Sindrian wine..."

Muu smiled then reached her a small scroll.

"I met Lady Scheherazade this morning as I helped her to prepare the service before the festival. It seems this an invitation for you as she proclaimed you her king candidate."

The blonde nodded while reading the letter, which said pretty much the same as Muu had just told her – except one thing.

"She wants me to go shopping but with her will pay for the dress. Look, she even added the name of a store."

He leaned over to skim the message, a strand of his hair brushed Lenka's shoulder and Orobas made a whining sound as if he was a puppy or wanted to tell her something very important. She sighed at the djinn's behavior, because, seriously, there was nothing between them, was it? They were friends, or so she though, as they were training together almost every day and he fetched her and Miran every morning, but more than that? Never.

"Huh, it really seems so. The feast is held in ten days, you should better grab Myron and get yourself a dress tailored. You will steal the spotlight for sure."

"Thanks for the compliment," Lenka said then slowly stood up, her legs really were stiff after sitting cross-legged for what felt like ages then shielded her eyes from the sun to look over the sparring pairs until she found the other Alexius further down talking to Razol.

"Okay, I'll be on my way then. I hope it doesn't take too long. Oh, doesn't it look like there is a brawl over there?"

Muu followed her outstretched finger then jumped from the bench.

"It is. Hey, be nice to each other!"

"Don't get thrown into a wall!" shouted the traveler as he raced to the fight then walked over to Myron and Razol who were watching the commotion with more or less interest but switched their attention to the blonde instead as she was close enough to communicate not through shouting.

"Look what I've got here, Myron. That's a job for you, isn't it?"

The two fanalis read the parchment then Muu's sister grabbed Lenka's arm with an almost frightening gleam in her red eyes.

"Let's go, immediately. It's only shortly after noon, we can get this done soon. A dress for the founder's feast... My brother will obviously wear his armor, but maybe with a toga this time... But that letter came at a superb time, there is something I wanted to discuss with you."

"I'll come with you, or else you won't get dinner," Razol grinned then took the other arm to drag her away.

The store Scheherazade was in one of the wealthier quarters of Remano, the shop owner knew Myron with name and almost crawled in front of her as the half-fanalis handed her the letter with the words "Make a dress worth of her status."

"So what's your status, Len?" joked the scarred woman and made herself comfortable in one of the plushy sofas as two assistants started to run around the blonde who shrugged slightly.

"Heir of a noble family with expanding business, dungeon capturer and temporary ambassador of Sindria or such I've been told. Maybe I've forgotten a few titles."

Myron's Rukh brightened joyful at this words while she only cocked a brow unlike Razol and the head tailor, first whistled in astonishment and latter nearly dropped the cloth she was holding then turned to grab a pale green silk.

"I-is this to your liking, madam?"

"Take off that scarf of yours, she has to wear something that goes well with the sword, the armor and the jewelry," Myron commanded then graciously sat down on the sofa and picked up the tea cup, small finger stretched away like a proper lady.

"Anyway, what I wanted to talk with you Lenka... I think my brother likes you."

The blonde blinked.

 _Say whaaaat?_

"Pardon me but what?"  
"I think my brother likes you," Myron repeated with a quick roll of her eyes. Lenka blinked again while the tailor who wrapped the cloth around her shoulder asked "This color?"

"No, that makes you look like a dead body, albeit a pretty dead body," Razol answered instead and munched a cookie from the platter that waited on a excellently crafted wooden table. The blonde blinked a third time as the gears in her head slowly started turning again. Somehow her brain didn't work like it used to do, Eligos was squealing too loud, Orobas was howling insults and Orias and Gusion had disappeared somehow to plot.

"Your brother."

"Yeah, my brother Muu Alexius. Who else should I be speaking about?"

"Likes me."

"Do I have to spell it for you? He. Likes. You."

"Is this a joke?"

Myron looked like she was about to snap the tea cup while Razol started to giggle then laughed as the foreigner continued to look extremely confused and slowly shook her head. Apparently the usually calm Myron was really obsessed with her brother.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't see why he should be interested in me. I'm not exactly the most suitable person for him out there, am I? Plus we don't really know each other and oh my god this can't be true, he can't do that, can he? I needed a dating app to find my boyfriends before!"

Now it was the other who blinked surprised then ignored the addition.

"You can't see why he should be interested in you? Are you so oblivious or stupid? No, not this color either. Something that makes her shine, you know?"

"I am neither," Lenka mumbled and rubbed her temples. "I'm just absolutely relationship-incompatible."

"You serious?" Razol said with a grin and appearing frown. "You are clearly a loving parent, funny, understanding, clever, your boobs are big and your ass is nice as well. Why wouldn't a guy want a girl like you? To squeeze that deliciously juicy butt? Isn't that so?" she asked the assistants who nodded in agree.

"See, I would ask you out if I was a guy."

"Wait a second, since when do you know how my butt looks like?"

"Since you fought Ignatius in that ridiculously skimpy djinn equip." Myron replied and the corners of her mouth were twitching upwards as the blonde blushed.

"Oh holy shit."

"Back to the topic, why do you think it's a bad idea to fall in love with you, Lenka?" Razol asked and rubbed the scar on her arm. The foreigner sighed then stretched her own arm out as the tailor brought another pale colored silk, this time golden.

"I just say it how it is. We know almost nothing about the other."

"Nonsense, he spent almost every minute of the last two months with you. This is better, place it next to me as a candidate. Maybe something creamy white, which throws folds easily. I think about a long dress with a deep v-neck..."

"I have a dress like that already, from Sindria," Lenka interrupted, glad to change the topic then pulled the knee-long dress with the silver ornaments from her first party out of the space, causing the tailors to gasp in surprise. Myron jumped up, grabbed it then held it in front of the blonde.

"This is really good. Something like this, in creamy white, maybe this golden silk one if there is none and a blue palla. Green if the blue is not satisfying.

So, back to the topic," she continued as the assistants hurried into the storage to fulfill her wish and the blonde started to marvel her persistence.

"I bet he knows more than enough about you already. Other problems?"

"Why are you bringing this theme up now?"

Myron sighed almost pained and rubbed her temple.

"We had a family meeting yesterday and mother was nagging again that he should finally marry and settle down and present her some grandchildren she could spoil rotten. He's going to be thirty soon."

"Thirty? I'm not even twenty!" Lenka yelped and Razol nodded in agree.

"The age gap might be a problem if you are uncomfortable with it, but here in Remano are many husbands older than their wives. Ten years is not much.

What did he tell your mom?"

Myron sighed again and placed the cup on the plate.

"He told her he had recently met someone with whom he could imagine having a family but had to ask her first."

"And why do you think it's me?"

"Because we meet almost every Sunday to eat dinner together and the only new woman he spent a considerably amount of time with was you."

Lenka buried her face in her hands.

"Oh God... this is not good."

The two fanalis looked at each other in confusion and growing despair. What was so wrong with her that she refused falling in love so much? Myron shrugged and mouthed 'this won't be easy'. Razol nodded and stood up.

"Let's leave the topic for now. Hey, this white really looks good on you, you've a nice tan."

"Thanks," she said with a long sigh.

* * *

"Guys, this will be more difficult than we'd assumed," Razol told Yaqut, Lolo and the other conspirators. Relahe, a pre-thirty formerly from Heliohapt nodded wisely after she heard the gist of what the dungeon capturer girl told the others then looked at Flavia, half-blood ex-slave from Napolia.

"Don't worry that much about it, if it comes to the worst I will use my husband's knowledge to save the situation."

"Your husband is a pharmacist, what could he do?" Lolo asked. Relahe giggled and exchanged looks with Myron who paled instantly.

"I trust in the power of a love potion."

"We won't use this on my brother, it would ruin the reputation of the corps and his as well!"

"Don't be such a scaredy cat," Razol said and nudged her friend affectionately. "We won't have to use this if everything goes smoothly after our plan. Mission 'Get our captain and Lenka to become a couple' or short, GCALTBAC will be a success!"

"What a stupid name," muttered Flavia.

"Though I don't have a better suggestion to make."

On the other side of the field Muu started to sneeze. Yaqut raised a brow.

"Are you okay, Captain? Catching a cold?"

"I hope not."

"Guys, captain is sick!"

"Captain! Don't die!"

"I'm fine I said!"

* * *

"How you know when a guy likes you?" Alibaba asked with his brows raised so high they were almost touching his hairline. Lenka nodded and balanced on the chair in her friend's room at the gladiator school then sneezed. Somewhere someone was talking about her. Or maybe she was catching a cold. Garuda the Maurenian baboon made a few howling noises then settled in a corner with a heap of fruit. The foreigner was still wary of the gladiator beast but Alibaba seemed to have taken a liking to the ape, and Garuda liked Alibaba, but that was really, _really_ weird.

He sighed and sheathed Amon's sword he had been polishing then switched on his 'manly' behavior, took his chin in one hand and gestured with the other.

"Lenka, Lenka, the manly heart is a delicate and complicate thing,"

"Alibaba's heart is fragile and complicated, but he's terribly dense, so don't tell him he is," stage-whispered Lenka and giggled as he shot her a glare that was nothing in comparison to her own _Death Glare_.

"Anyway, complicated hearts and-"

"Why was I asking you, you haven't even had a girlfriend, nor have you ever made kissing experience or ever touched a girl. You faint when I say 'sexual intercourse'," she groaned and chose to ignore his second glare. Alibaba tried to keep up his 'manly' facade for another minute of muttering and failed terribly as he blushed cherry red. Lenka deliberated if she should just leave the room, go home, charge her smartphone and plan the destruction of Al-Thamen through fluffy kittens, pink unicorns and soda cupcakes, as fluffy kittens, pink unicorns and too sugary-sweet cupcakes were the death to everyone who was not a five year old girl. Just when she agreed to having them listen to Britney Spears to make them yield he finally answered "I'm still waiting for the right woman to spent the rest of my life with."

 _Solomon, it took him this long?_ Gusion muttered while Orobas mentally hugged his queen.

 _I have Lenka, and will never leave her for the rest of her life and she will love me like I am._

 _Gross! But Eligos likes her as well!_ the female cheered and Orias suddenly took a strong interest in one of the chains hanging from his choker while blushing pink to the tips of his pointy ears.

… _if I was swinging that way I could think about it._

Lenka sighed gravely and rubbed her temples.

"Yeah, but how will you court her when you realize it's the right one? That's my problem: I can't really say what he's doing, you know? One minute he act like an older brother, then like a friend and then he looks at me with those eyes that tell he he wants nothing more than to-"

"I get it, I get it, no need to elaborate!"

"I say 'eye-fucking'!"

"Geez, Lenka!"

"A girl knows when someone is staring at her ass! Don't underestimate this sixth sense, Alibaba!"

He blushed scarlet when she started to laugh at his discomfort then scratched his nose while thinking. Garuda came over and tried to pet his hair, a gesture that made Lenka tilt away even further. Creepy ape.

"I think I would tell her how I feel?" he said after a few minutes and the traveler sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Even before that. In woman logic this marks the beginning of a relationship. I need to know how you court a woman in this world. I'm fairly familiar with how it works in my world and in the history of my world, but here? Not a chance.

Would you go out with her, treat her to dinner, tell her stories of you past adventures, ask her opinion on political matters on something like that?"

Alibaba rubbed his chin then nodded with a superior expression.

"Of course I would do things like that, and even more. I'd buy her everything she wants-"

"Don't fall for a gold-digger."

"and treat her to the best cuisine I could afford-"

"Aren't you broke right now?"

"Oh, shut up, Lenka, I'm trying to figure out what I would do!"

"Alibaba, be a tad more realistic," the reply came with a dry chuckle. "You have to make contact with her first, after the the outside the inside is even more important. Talk to her to find out if she is sane or not, has similar interests, funny, good with children, can take care of the household, is a family person or not and, most importantly, if you could imagine being with her for your entire life."

He blinked then looked at her with big eyes and Garuda returned to her corner.

"Are those your standards?"

She fell almost from her chair but Gusion froze the wood to the floor.

"Most women decide after this deliberations if they can choose their husbands. Money plays a big role as well, if some has stable income or not. It doesn't matter to me, because I'm filthy rich."

Alibaba scowled, causing her to giggle in delight before coming back to the topic.

"So, how do you know when a guy likes you?"

He stood up and paced along the room then sighed.

"Look, I can't really tell because I've never been in a situation like this," he hissed between gritted teeth. Lenka sighed then stood up as well to ruffle his hair like Garuda did before, causing a very un-manly squeak to escape him.

"I see. So then I have to figure things out myself then. You're growing up, Alibaba. The kid I met in Balbadd would have never said something like this..."

"Then don't treat me like your pet!"

The door opened with a loud bang and Shambal strode in.

"Children, would you like to see-"

"No!"

"I've seen more of you than I ever wanted to see," Lenka deadpanned then sighed.

"Sorry, Shambal, but I'm having a problem I can't solve on my own. And Alibaba's useless. Even though he's growing up."

"Hey!" the other dungeon capturer protested then seemed to realize something.

"Was he naked when you first met him as well?"

"He scarred Miran, my djinn and me for the rest of our lives."

 _Uwah, don't mention it, I was sure I had blocked it!_ Orobas yelled, Gusion turned her jackal ears to seal ears and closed them, Orias took a sickly pale green color and Eligos counted animals again to distract herself. Shambal coughed in his fist as the blondes hugged in shared mental scarring.

"Anyway, little Miran has come to get you, Lenka."

A loud patter announced the arrival of the small fanalis that instantly jumped at Lenka and almost tackled her to the floor while starting to ramble about his day.

"Hey, Lenka, guess what? Lolo praised me for defeating Marcus today, and he's really cool, so this means he likes me, doesn't he? And then he started to fight with Myron and Muu tried to intercept the fight and crashed through the bushes into a wall and left a Muu-shaped hole in the wall! He was not injured, though, just a few bruises and his hair got tangled with leafs and twigs so he looked like an oversized fanalis wood gnome!"

"Whoa, I have never heard a fanalis talking this much," Alibaba said in surprise and awe. Miran turned his big red eyes to the blonde man then grinned wide, showing the small gap where he had lost one of his baby teeth the day before.

"You are Alibaba? I'm Miran. Lenka has told me stories of your adventures – mostly the parts where you got pranked," he added and giggled as Alibaba deflated and pouted at the woman.

"What stories do you tell kids of me?"

"Training incidents and the days where you had been _defenseless_ " she answered with an evil grin, causing the other to shiver in recollection of the past events in Sindria, Miran chuckled and Shambal let out a hearty laugh.

"See, I knew you had fire, Miss Lenka. Do you really don't want to fight in the arena for the fame and excitement?"

"My life is exciting and life-threatening enough already," Lenka replied dryly.

"Plus I have to take care of my little monster here."

"By taking care of me I hope you mean giving me dinner, I'm starving!"

"You heard the abyss of Miran's stomach speak to us. We'll be leaving."

She gave Alibaba a peck on the cheek and shook hand with Shambal before leaving the room. The old Yambala chuckled and shook his head.

"I wonder how her relationship with the young Alexius is progressing. Do you have more information, Alibaba?"

"Not really," he muttered, trying to keep up his 'manly' facade. Or maybe... With a frown he remembered the event that had happened about a month ago, when Muu Alexius had chosen to visit him.

" _So, what is your relationship with Lenka?" the tall fanalis asked with a friendly, almost too friendly smile. Alibaba gave him a bemused glance._

" _Lenka? That Lenka? Triple, no now quadruple dungeon capturer? The crazy blonde with the huge eh, assets?Are you ins-, I mean, you do mean her?"_

 _Muu nodded, friendly smile still plastered on his face even though a hairline crack appeared._

" _Exactly that Lenka that has been training with the fanalis corps and Reim's dungeon capturers for three months now."_

 _Uhhh, what a way to make friends, Alibaba started to sweat then was instantly reminded that fanalis could smell better than normal humans and awkwardly scratched the back of his head._

" _Oh, okay. Well, we have... past. Or something like that. We spent around seven months together in Sindria. And a few weeks in Balbadd before that. During... the revolt there," he ended a bit gibberish. Oh Solomon, the smile had turned into a grin that looked eerily like he was threatening him._

" _I see. Care to explain a bit further?"_

 _The 'further' had the hint of a growl in it and Alibaba flinched. That man was dangerous, a bit like Sinbad and yet not in the least like him. The constant smiling reminded him of Ja'far, but the advisor would gut him if he would take another second to think about this._

" _She's evil," he bursted out and felt a blush appear on his cheeks. "Not only that she constantly teases me she even has the craze to treat me like her little brother! I'm just a little brother to her, not even a man, sometimes even a pet! You can't imagine the countless jibes and nasty comments that came from her! And the pranks! I'm scarred!"_

 _Maybe Muu patted his back a bit harder than normally and he didn't really have to make that concerned face, Alibaba didn't know, he was busy collecting the shreds of dignity back together._

" _There, there, I know she can be quite... strange sometimes."_

" _Strange was never the problem, she made almost constantly dirty jokes about... things. Solomon, that was so embarrassing! It was like... like having a big brother with an extremely foul mouth!"_

 _The corners of Muu's lips twitched upwards._

" _I see. Must have been really hard for you."_

" _Hard is an understatement! She forbade me eating the sweet stuff because she said I would get fat and I saw her feeding the fish in the pond with the sweet bread only minutes later. And she ate it herself as well!"_

 _And so all the embarrassing details of his Lenka-inflicted torture gushed out of Alibaba who had no chance but to talk the stones off his soul. Muu was a good listener, despite the somehow threatening feeling that he had sent out before._

" _So you weren't her lover?"_

 _Alibaba stared at the other with utter disbelief._

" _Didn't you hear what I said? She treated me like her little brother. Like her_ pet _. Though Sinbad was after her like he is after every woman. And we thought that there was something between her and Ja'far, Sinbad's advisor, because she spent much time in the office helping him with the official matters, but besides that there wasn't really anything that caused rumors. She was pretty good with us guys, up to the point when we were out drinking and my master asked her for her techniques to_ _flirt with girls and they spent half an hour discussing how to conquer successfully. That was really weird."_

 _He frowned at the shadow that ghosted over Muu's features as he mentioned Sinbad and continued his rambling._

" _But then she said before she would ever get a relationship again Kouen and Sinbad would, and those were her words, not mine, proclaim their undying love for each other and live together shagging happily and having dinner with Sinbad's seven thousand seven hundred seventy-seven bastard children and their households. Insane number, don't know where she got that from._

 _And when master Sharrkan asked her for her favorites she answered family-friendly red-heads who knew how to make or where to get delicious food."_

 _Alibaba felt really strange when the man's grin brightened like someone had lit a candle inside him, or rather, catched the sun and fed him with the light. Sparkly white teeth. Many sparkly white teeth. Somehow this friendly grin made him shudder._

" _I see. Now that is something I can work with._

 _Would you like to spar with me when you are free? I've seen several of your fights in the arena. Crossing swords with you would be seriously interesting."_

"Oh Solomon what have I done!" yelped Alibaba when he suddenly realized that the man had been questioning him! And moreover, he hadn't even got one of the hints the fanalis had dropped!

Shambal sighed and left the room as the young gladiator fell on his bed, sobbing about things being unfair and that he was the only one who wouldn't find a girlfriend until he was old and gray.

"Kids these days."

* * *

When Lenka and Miran finally got home after dinner at a small booth which sold tasty beef stew the next surprise waited for them. As soon as they had put the groceries they had bough on the way away someone knocked at the door. The traveler was very surprised to see Inara, the mother of Miran's friend Marcus, and her husband Ryder on her doorstep.

"Well, hello there. Is everything okay? Come in, do you want to drink tea?"

They sat a bit awkwardly on her sofa and scanned the living room with the small sideboard and the pretty vase placed on it while she rustled around to boil water and prepare three cup until Miran rumbled downstairs.

"Hey, Inara, Ryder, where is Marcus? Did something happen?"

Inara smiled warmly at him.

"Nothing, happened, dear. We just wanted to talk with Lenka about... a delicate matter. Adult things."

Miran shrugged then raced upstairs again. The blonde placed a platter with tea cups and cookies on the small table between the sofas and took place as well.

"So... a delicate adult matter. Weird rumors ghosting around about me and Captain Muu? The imagination of humans becomes really vivid when they see a man and a woman standing together and talking about how to fight a rampaging southern sea creature and then cook it so it tastes best."

Ryder chuckled while Inara just forced herself to smile. Lenka raised a brow.

"So what business do you have with me?"

The fanalis woman took her husbands hand for comfort then sighed.

"I... we always wished to raise a bunch of kids... but sadly I couldn't get pregnant after having Marcus again... he always wanted a little brother. Would it be possible..."

"I don't have a life djinn to check if I can do something," replied Lenka with a shake of her head. "I would if I could, but..."

"Would it be possible to adopt Miran?"

… _!_

Her jaw fell in surprise. She would have never thought of that. Never. A dam seemed to have broken because Inara continued talking.

"I know it is difficult to raise a child, especially if you have many duties to do and meetings to attend, as a person like you surely has. The dangers that come with the position as dungeon capturers and such are surely overwhelming, death is a risk in every single minute.

What would happen to a child of such a person, moreover, if the person was a single parent?

Ryder and I would more than welcome it if Miran would become part of our family. Marcus would be surely overjoyed to have a brother who is almost the same age."

 _No. You can't give him away,_ Orobas snarled and bared his fangs.

 _Miran belongs to us._

 _To us!_ Eligos yelled and loaded her replica of a shotgun with a _ca-lakk_.

 _No one takes him away!_

Lenka felt like someone had hit her with a golf club or something similar. Her pulse was too loud in her ears, breathing- was she breathing?

… _deep inhale. One, two, three. Exhale,_ Gusion commanded, a voice of reason in the storms of her mind. Lenka inhaled, counted to three and exhaled slowly then looked at the couple on the other couch. Inara's eyes shimmered wet, a faint glimmer of hope in the red enlightened them. Ryder seemed to be more concerned with her reaction.

"So? What do you say?"

… _Lenka._

 _Please not, my queen._

 _Lenky..._

 _Don't abide their will, Lenka. You know he is a part of our team._

"I will think about this," she said slowly, eying the two fanalis.

"I raised my sister and our little half-brother after the death of my mother almost on my own. I can take care of a child. Miran is with me since I rescued him from a slave auction in Aktia," Inara gasped at this, "and will do everything to make sure he lives a happy life.

However, the decision is up to Miran, not to me, if he wants to live with you or with me. For now, please keep this matter between us until I have spoken with him alone."

The words hurt like glass shards in her throat, cutting her, opening a new wound on her soul as she repeated "everything is up to him."

* * *

 **Oh, another problem appears *snickers devilishly* sorry, but I love to torment Lenka so much *runs away from fire-shooting Lenka* yeah, so, don't grill me yet, I have to finish the story first.**

 **And again, cookies to the people who reviewed!**

 **Eden: sure thing, I hope Titus will appear in the final arc of _Magi_ , he has to, I bet it's going to be the worst battle since _Naruto._**

 **Guest: it's Sunday! Enjoy!**

 **Nemeria: I have problems finding the right rooms to my university courses at the moment (luckily I'm not always the only one). You only had to whisper _"Game of Thrones"_ in my last year at school and at least eight people were turning towards you _"OMG did you say Game of Thrones? Danaerys! Geoffrey is such a dick!"_**

 **Aww, thank you :D But I think this chapter shows that Alibaba is not that useless any longer. I needed more words because I thought it was not long enough and re-read Volume 17 again... Inspiration!**

 **I'm an absolute AliMor fan. It has to be! Get your acts together, boy!**

 **Orias cooks and bakes for them, but he wants to quit now. Payment is too bad. And the glue on cookies was Eligos' payback for loosing the bet against Gusion. Very few people can win bets against Gusion, the last one was actually Solomon because he said that no one would ever date Ugo. Poor Ugo...**

 **Lenka read only _Magi_ , but wanted to start reading _Adventures of Sinbad_. Sadly she got transferred the same day. How far she got is mentioned in this chapter and in the first.**

 **Let's start the cat reaction fan club, because I do the very same (I'm physically 18, but everyone tells me I look like 15 and am mentally 12. My answer is that they are envious of my youth)! Love for Titus! Cat reaction fan club president Titus Alexius! Cuteness overload!**

 **He and Miran will meet in the future, because they have to spread adorableness through the world and defeat Al-Thamen through kitten fluffiness. Perfect end.**

 **Orias and Gusion were actually not that friendly with each other back in Alma Toran, but they bonded through being scarred by Lenka. Soon another member of the party will show up... and hell will break loose *devilish laughter***

 _ **Star Wars.**_ **I'm waiting for the next movie... my sister wants a Vader pillow. And a genuine light saber. And a space ship. She would make a perfect Sith lady.**

 **Hu hu hu hu... I'm having so much fun at the moment when writing this. They have starting gingerbread and nougat. I love Christmas. Time to bake! And to eat!**

 **Thanks to you great people out there who read _Second Chance_! I'm so happy! Cookie explosion!**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes because I do the correcting stuff on my own and English is not my native language.**

 **Warning! This story is rated M so if you're underage or have made similar experiences I _order_ you NOT TO READ PAST THE THREE HORIZONTAL LINES, seriously! There is heavy psychological content ahead as well as... ehem... porn.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 22 Drinking from the wrong cup

With the adoption problem in mind Lenka decided not to train on the next day but rather take a stroll through the city. Somehow everything started to go down fast, faster than she had ever feared it would go. Giving Miran away...

She knew Inara and Ryder only superficial from the short visits when she fetched Miran from playing with Marcus or when the couple visited the training grounds. Their Rukh were nice and loving towards their own son, friendly to the other people. Would he have a better life with them? A life without the constant struggle to achieve something to change the future?

Lenka walked into a part of Remano she had never been before. The houses were big and heavily decorated with murals or pillars, the passerby seemed to be a bit wealthier than in her own quarter where the majority were merchants and working families. Rich Reimian royals...

That mad her remember Muu, who was a noble, not a royal. And oh Solomon, what was he doing? What was she doing?

Flirting with a guy on occasions where they were bot a bit intoxicated was okay, and maybe even in sober state, but she had never experienced something of this dimensions. She remembered that she had never felt something similar during her relationships back home as they were part experimenting part peer pressure and incompatible with her, both intellectually and physically inferior to her.

Muu was someone entirely different. Strong, witty, handsome, a dream of a man. Her absolute ideal if she had to tell someone. Maybe the girls going for older man had been on the right path all the time, she mused while walking down a stone staircase and stopped in her tracks as she beheld a nice fountain where children were playing. A roaring lion standing with one paw on a rock, fresh water gushed from the jaws of the statue into a flower-shaped basin. The kids were splashing water at each other, squealing in joy and running around while their mothers were sitting on a bench a few meters away, watching them and discussing their simple lives.

Somehow this scene calmed her down, brought the smile back to her face when she leaned against the railing wall to watch the kids a bit longer.

"My children used to play in that fountain as well."

Lenka looked up to see a woman around the age her own mother would be now standing a few steps above her. White streaks lanced her red hair that was pulled up in some delicate hairstyle that went well with her long dress and the green stole she was wearing.

"I really miss those times," she admitted with a nostalgic smile at Lenka who smiled back. The woman was a fanalis, but she had never seen a fanalis so old that their hair would loose the red color. Another hint of the woman's true age were the small wrinkles around her eyes, but the rest of her face was still very smooth. She had been an astonishing beauty in her youth for sure.

"My siblings loved to play with water as well. We had a small pond in the garden and I used to catch frogs and dragonflies for them," said the traveler and flinched as one of the kids tripped and started to cry. The woman chuckled.

"My son is a few years older than his sister but it was always her who played pranks on him. He was too kind to do something against her," she told her with a dreamy expression which caused Lenka to grin.

"I couldn't go against my siblings as well, they would always make puppy eyes at me. Especially when they wanted to stay up late or wanted more biscuits or another bedtime story."

"Children truly are a blessing."

Lenka hummed in agree and closed her eyes to face the sun.

"As much as I like them having own children is a whole other matter."

The other woman raised a brow, or at least her Rukh moved accordingly.

"You don't want to have children?"

"I would need to get a man first," Lenka said with a smile then turned to the woman who eyed her with outwardly hidden curiosity.

"Would you like to drink a cup of wine with me?"

"I'd prefer tea, thank you very much. My name is Lenka, by the way."

The woman smiled and a shudder ran down the traveler's spine. The smile of a predator who had cornered it's prey and wouldn't let it escape, even if the sky was to come down and the earth to fall apart. She had seen this smile very often during her time with the corps.

"The name is Murciela Alexius."

Lenka felt her gaze wander down the stairs, searching for a quick escape route when Murciela suddenly grabbed her arm and began to drag her away, a dangerous happy glint in the crimson eyes, so similar to Myron's that it was scary.

"Now we will talk for a bit, future daughter-in-law."

A panicked yelp escaped the blonde but resistance was futile in fanalis' iron-crushing grip.

"Oh Solomon, no!"

Murciela giggled then entered the Reim version of a cafe with her prisoner, nodded happily towards the gaping owner and entered a private room in the back of the shop where she nudged Lenka into a chair before sitting down as well. She laced her fingers together and looked rather pleased with herself and her actions.

"Which tea would you like, Lenka, dear?"

Her left eye started to twitch at the boldness of Muu's mother while she was admiring her attitude at the same time because this was not exactly the best occasion to have an emotional screaming fit.

"... black... tea. Please."

"From Kou? I personally am convinced that tea from the east is a bit bitter, but everyone has her own preferences, right? A cup of black tea, one herbal tea and a plate of goodies for us," she told the servant that had followed them into the room and that bowed and disappeared quickly. Murciela leaned back and continued to look at Lenka until the requested items were brought to them and they were alone in the room before she picked up her cup and started to speak.

"So you are the woman my son spends so much time with."

"Maybe I am," Lenka said and took a sip then reached for the pot with sugar. Really bitter.

"If you are searching for Lenka Sensenmacher, that is."

"I do."

 _Damn it._

"So you were looking for me for...?"

Hopefully not skinning alive. Murciela smiled again and it was just really stunning how similar her children were to her.

"Just a little talk, dear."

"When I hear this I usually head for the exit as there will be dead bodies and broken tableware afterwards."

The fanalis chuckled then placed her cup on the saucer with the same elegance as her daughter did.

"I was interested in you. Muu didn't tell me much, I had to get the information from Myron but she was more than helpful."

 _She is dangerous. Not only physically, but psychologically as well,_ Lenka realized and nodded slowly.

"I understand, but there is not much about me worth mentioning."

"Don't be so modest. You have achieved much already and don't have the need to make yourself smaller than you are," Murciela said and leaned back, fingers laced again.

"Let's speak frankly. What is your relationship with my son?"

Lenka exhaled slowly and tried to collect her thoughts, find a way to calm the other and assure her that she was not a danger. She didn't manage to do so. This woman deserved the truth.

"I don't know," she said and looked straight at Murciela.

"I really don't know."

The other raised a brow.

"Do you really thin I would believe you?"

Lenka sighed again and placed her elbows on her tights to massage her temples.

"I have... issues. Severe mental problems. I can't trust people easily, though it has gotten better since I... left home. Much better. I don't think I'm in the condition to have a physical relationship with a man yet."

Murciela patiently waited for her to continue as the blonde's voice broke and she had to take deep breaths to calm herself. She had had similar problems in her youth, actually every fanalis that had been a slave had this issues, no matter if it had been only a few weeks. Her own children and the ones born now in the safety of the Reim empire wouldn't have the same difficulties with trusting others, but it was a long and painful process to get over the barriers built high and sturdy after years of pain and despondency.

Lenka looked up, her despair and confusion clearly visible.

"Muu is... when I was younger I dreamed of marrying someone like him. He's friendly, humorous, good with children, intelligent, handsome... even where I come from everyone would like to have a son-in-law like him. He's a perfect match."

Murciela hummed in agree, pleased though she didn't know where the young woman in front of her came from.

"I am nowhere near perfect," Lenka said in a voice dripping with self-loathing. "Not even good. I am wary of myself, but I try not to think about it because it would bring me too close to falling into depravity. I have build so many walls around me, but he... he slips through them, you know? I can't do anything against it. It confuses me, makes me insecure... and the worst is that I don't even have a hint of what he wants.

I really don't know," she sighed and took a large gulp from her cup. Murciela leaned forward to take her other hand and massage the back of it with her thumb.

"I know how you feel. Exactly the same happened to me when Tiberius tried to court me. Somehow the Alexius men are a bit retarded when it comes to courting, probably as it is noting you can solve with pure strength and war tactics."

"Funny that they say the same things about fanalis," Lenka replied with a weak smile.

"It is something men have in common, some are simply worse than others. And it was a lot more complicated because I was a slave of one of the more powerful families governing Carthage at that time. That was a huge shock to the elders as he came back from his duties with a fanalis ex-slave who was engaged to him. It took them a long time to accept me, but in the end I was adopted into a branch of the Alexius family and could marry Tiberius.

Turbulent times," Murciela added with a dreamy expression then her sharp gaze returned.

"Should I give Muu some advice how to properly court you?"

"Please don't," the traveler answered, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards into a weak smile.

"But I know that you probably wouldn't listen."

"Indeed," she dryly stated and her eyes shone warm.

"Your mother must be proud of you."

"I hope she would be. She died when I was seven, but I hope she would be proud."

"Surely she would," the fanalis said and reached out to ruffle the blonde's hair.

"Because I would be proud as well."

Lenka's eyes widened in surprise then they teared up as she smiled at Murciela.

"Thank you."

* * *

The founder's feast was a big celebration, as Muu had promised. The whole city had been preparing for months or so it seemed to Lenka, she couldn't explain the huge amounts of food and flower festoons otherwise. Everyone was dressed in their best clothes as was she. The new outfit she wore reminded her of one of the Greek or Roman statues from her world, the silk was so smooth and soft that it followed her movements like the ever-changing current, the sapphire-blue cape that was attached to small silver shoulder plates was slightly thicker but the drapery was done so delicately that it didn't bother at all. Her sandals were new as well and her hair was done nicely by Eligos and Gusion - who got amazingly solid if she infused them with more _magoi_ than usually when her djinn decided to appear outside, solid enough to receive a crushing hug – and careful use of her shrinking make-up made her look like a goddess or so Miran was convinced. The boy wore a tunic like most younger Reimian boys did but with a new sash, his dagger and the flying scarf if something should occur and he had to get away fast.

She still hadn't found a solution for the adoption problem but after the conversation with Murciela Alexius she felt more prepared for what the future might bring her and instead enjoyed the time she had left with Miran.

Lenka left him with the fanalis corps' younger recruits as the older were attending the service as guards and slipped into the palace, following the Rukh to a chamber on the first floor where Muu and Ignatius were waiting already. The old man nodded approvingly while the fanalis had to collect his thoughts back together for a few second in which she mentally hailed her female djinn.

"You look stunning," he said and scratched the back of his head in awkwardness. Lenka grinned at him and slightly tilted her head. Apparently his mother had really given him some advice.

"I've noticed so, but I have to admit that you don't look that bad either. Rather polished I dare to say."

Ignatius coughed and she was absolutely sure that he concealed a chuckle with it. But really, Muu wore his freshly polished cuirass, looking like the fanalis version of Mars or so Mica had titled him once. Solomon, how she missed her friend. Micaela would probably agree with Myron's choice for her dress. And Muu's attire. She could almost hear her scream something about golden nipples and then cackling like an evil witch in the back of her head, but maybe it was just Eligos.

She shook her head at his curios glance then looked at Nerva and Scheherazade who had just entered the room. The Magi blinked slowly at he then nodded approvingly, just like Ignatius had, while the son of the emperor showed the same reaction as Muu. Gaping surprise.

"I see the bill was justified."

Lenka curtsied gracefully in front of the other.

"My Lady. I thank you for your graciousness and will try to serve you the best I can."

Scheherazade tilted her head to listen to the cheering outside then nodded.

"I will speak to the citizens now. Nerva, Ignatius, you go first, right side, Muu, Marlene-Karen, left side."

 _Oh, it's always funny how she's the only one who uses your full name,_ Orobas mused while she nodded then took the hand Muu held out to her.

"May I?"

"Of course, captain."

Six guards went through the door first and took their posts on the gray balcony then the dungeon capturers followed. The cheers reminded her of the arena at first but the mood was completely different. Those people wanted to see their beloved Magi, not the death of a poor gladiator, and a sudden rush of empathy made her feel with them as Scheherazade stepped into the light and onto the balcony, her staff glittered in the sun like her hair, the ivy crown was a beautiful contrast to the golden flood that touched the floor.

The noise died slowly as she raised her stave, hundreds of thousands interested eyes stared at the fragile figure over them, but the voice they heard was magically strenghtened.

"Citizens of Remano, of the Reim Empire, today is a day to celebrate, to honor our founder Remus who raised the first wall of this city..."

Silently the foreigner compared the facts she knew of the two worlds, finding that the story of the Reim Empire was almost identical to the Roman version. Scheherazade must have told it at least two hundred times but everyone's eyes and ears were glued to her and her words, especially as she started to talk about solidarity, the will to protect what was dear to oneself and duty, almost foreshadowing the upcoming war with Magnostadt and the treaty with Sindria that was yet to happen.

The Magi was a brilliant talker but the growing wariness of the future made Lenka all jittery and nervous and she had to focus on something else to keep herself from hugging herself for comfort, which was watching the others and using the warmth of her djinn to draw comfort. She applauded with everyone else and followed the other dungeon capturers as seats were brought so they could watch the colorful parade that marched by under the balcony, pompous and overloaded and yet showing the strength of the Empire. Reim was indeed a force not to be taken lightly.

The rest of the festival was almost a blur in her memory.

She remembered noticing Alibaba with the Shambal school gladiators and talking to them after the parade as he had been watching with them.

She remembered accepting receiving a bouquet by a young girl that smiled shyly at her, eyes widened at the sight of her metal vessels.

She remembered Scheherazade introducing her to her other admirals and officials as her fourth dungeon capturer, bowing politely and doing a bit small-talk.

She remembered Muu introducing his parents to her, officially introducing as she already knew his mother who winked conspiratorial. They were happy, more than thirty five years of being married had tied them together like only hardships and joys shared with each other could and her own hope of experiencing something similar someday started to grow like a flower.

Hours later she walked at Muu's side to the tavern where the big after-party would take place. The corps had rented the location for the evening and every member or ex-member came by. Under all those red-heads she was the only blonde but that mattered not very long, she had just to win a few arm-wrestling matches to get accepted. Apparently the fanalis genes were really dominant, even the quarter-fanalis had the fiery hair and uniquely shaped eyes, but sometimes green or brown irises. The food was more Mediterranean and the wine was even stronger than in Sindria, so she reminded herself to be careful, the dress was too pretty to be ruined already.

* * *

During her third drink the world started to get fuzzy. Lenka frowned and placed the half-empty cup on the table where she sat with Razol to watch the dancers and reached for a small bowl with this world's version of crackers when the shivering began. She dropped the cracker and stared at her blurring fingers, her mouth becoming unnaturally dry and she felt like she was wrapped in at least two blankets at midday in the desert, so. Fucking. Hot.

"Lenka? What's wrong?" Razol asked and touched her cheek then yelped.

"Holy Solomon, you're burning up! Did you have this crazy high fever the whole day?"

The blonde slowly shook her head then tried to stand up but her trembling legs were too weak to carry her weight so she leaned back against the wall behind her and wrapped her arms around her stomach to ease the nauseating feeling.

"Dizzy. I'm not drunk, this is not what it feels like to be drunk.

Gusion?"

The djinn looked alarmed, the now yellow eyes squinted as Lenka felt a tickling sensation all over her body as Gusion scanned her Rukh.

… _poisoned. I can't do much from here. If we'd do_ that _I could burn it from the inside but your Rukh are too unstable right now. The only thing I can do is trying to change it into something non-fatal, but I can't say what it will be at this stage._

"The drink..." she groaned and Razol grabbed the cup to sniff at the content. Her face turned from concentrated to shocked in a split second, then she jumped from her chair.

"Lenks, stay where you are. Captain! Relahe! Come over!"

The fast movement of the following wave blurred into a long, flesh-colored line for her eyes as the room started slowly tilting to the right. She groaned and pulled her legs up to take a sitting fetal position to calm down the shivering but the nearing footsteps made it worse again. Another cool hand touched her cheek and she instinctively leaned against it then slowly opened her eyes.

"Woah... there is more than one of you," she murmured surprised.

"Can I choose one to keep?"

Muu frowned then let the other woman near the blonde. Relahe quickly checked Lenka's pulse and temperature then sniffed at her and started to rummage in the small bag she was wearing. Her jaw fell in shock and she checked again.

"It's gone. Have you seen a small flask with a yellow cap? Perhaps drunk from it? Oh..."

She pulled a carefully sealed vial from the depths of her bag and paled until she was as white as Lenka's dress.

"Oh Solomon, no."

Razol handed the cup over for Muu and Relahe to smell the wine. The physician's wife nearly dropped it after she caught a whiff of the scent.

"Dear Lord Solomon. I really hoped it isn't..."

She took one of her rings off and dipped it into the alcohol then blew on the metal. The fluid sizzled and left a green film on the bronze surface.

"What is it, Relahe?" Muu asked and his brows furrowed even more. The woman started biting on her lower lip and glanced at Lenka before answering.

"I believe it's a poison called 'Copper Thorns'. Odorless, with a taste similar to wine. Causes a feverish state at first, nausea, shivering, high temperature but then the victim coughs up blood as the intestines start to melt because it reacts with the gastric acid. The drinker dies very fast and very painful."

Lenka managed a scowl, or so she hoped, the world was blurring so much it made her eyes tear up.

"Oh great. Luckily I have Gusion... Said she would turn it into something else."

Relahe looked she was going to cry, Razol was stiff with shock but then a dangerous fire lit in her eyes.

"I will kill whoever did this. Slowly."

"Find the culprit and warn the others, but do not scare them unnecessarily," ordered Muu with a low snarl. The scarred woman nodded, slipped from her chair and disappeared into the crowd. Lenka blinked slowly at Relahe who sniffed at her again.

"What?"

"If I'm not mistaken... your djinn said she would turn it into something else? Did she mention what?"

Muu turned back to them to lean against the wall and block the view but then smelled the air as well.

"Do you smell that, too?"

"Pupils dilated, permanently," Relahe said and lowered the candle she had taken from the table. Her lips turned upwards.

"Do you still feel dizzy?"

"And hot. My heartbeat is too loud and... erratic."

The other suddenly grinned wide and nudged Muu's arm.

"You should take her home captain, we don't know what the djinn will turn the poison into and it would be better for her to be in her own four walls when that happens."

"Just what did I drink?" Lenka murmured weakly but then warm arms slipped under her knees and around her back and then she was lifted, her right side firmly pressed against cool metal. Good. Cool was good. Hard was not so good, but cool was. The cool air of the night was even better, fresh and cleansing. The noise died down as soon as they left the tavern, the only things she could hear was the steady beating of Muu's heart and the crunching noises his sandals made on the ground. Lenka sighed and rubbed her eyes then remembered she was wearing make-up. Damn.

"Sorry for getting poisoned, Muu."

"It's not your fault. It could have been everyone. Think of it as a small inconvenience, but we were surely lucky that Gusion can heal you. I don't want to imagine if it had been someone else..."

"Yaay for being dungeon capturer."

His silent laughter caused the armor under her cheek to vibrate and Lenka groaned lightly at the growing pain in her head.

"Sorry, I didn't want to hurt you."

"You didn't. Major headache."

She inhaled deeply then coughed, a hard, raspy sound that caused he whole body to shake violently. And then the burning got stronger, the shivering as well and God it hurt. It hurt like a blistering hook in her intestines, pulling at her guts, twisting them in every possible direction, trying to get them out through her navel.

"It hurts. It hurts. Make it stop."

The steps and the heartbeat quickened as Muu started to run.

"A few more seconds, Lenka."

She thought she had had her fair share of mental and physical torture already but this was something completely new. The constant chill, the fever and the blurred sight were almost too much for her. Feverish illusions and dreams were high up on her list of things she hated, above critters but below persons spreading rumors but this could change after this episode. Faintly she remembered Muu opening a door and a series of loud clacks then she was laid on something soft and fluffy while the warm surface disappeared, fingers touched her calves and her shoes were dropped to the floor.

And then her vision blackened.

Something smelled good. Warm, spicy. Lenka opened her eyes and tried to find the source of this delicious scent, a nameless hunger grew inside her mind as well as a dull throbbing in her lower abdomen. Muu was only centimeters away, holding her face with both hands. His pupils were dilated, catching the light of the moon outside to see in the darkness of the bedroom. She smiled at him then closed the space between them as she leaned forward to kiss him. Hmm. Good. His lips were really soft. Lenka grabbed his shoulders to pull him closer but Muu placed his hand over her mouth.

"Lenka, what are you doing?"

A small, fading voice in the back of her head shouted that he was absolutely right, she should stop kissing the sexy guy but a louder one urged just to use this chance to the fullest, she might never meet someone like him again. Lenka wrapped her legs around his waist then rolled him on the back so that she was on top and lazily pulled off the forearm protector.

"Stripping," she answered, dropped it on the carpet and her sword next to it.

"Isn't it obvious?"

The biceps rings fell next to the shelf and she reached for the fastener of her necklace, smiling under half-closed lids as his eyes widened in shock then narrowed again.

"Lenka. You don't really want to do that."

Frowning she abandoned the necklace at last.

"Don't tell me what I want to do. What I want to be. Who I should be. I hate that. I am who I am. I do what I want to do."

She leaned forward, her lips ghosted over his ear, warm breath tickled his skin as she whispered:

"And I want you."

Muu tensed under her as she kissed him again, this time hungry, then playful, seducing him until he growled darkly and kissed her back, slipped his tongue in her mouth to explore and cupped her bottom to press her hips against his. A moan escaped her when she realized what the bulge pressing against her leg meant and the shivering sped up another notch. She made a small, surprised sound as he rolled around to pin her to the mattress and followed the line of her jaw with his lips, placing small kisses on her neck then bit down at her collarbone while opening the buttons of her dress at the same time. Lenka banged her hand against the armor then tried to find the openers.

"Take it off."

"You sure? There's no turning back," Muu said with husky voice then grinned as she started to pull at the shoulder plates with a whine.

"Strip I said."

The fire inside her started to burn brighter as he stood up, leaned his sword against the desk then almost painfully slow opened the fasteners of the cuirass then placed it on the floor, never breaking eye-contact with her. In the light he looked like a marble statue, deliciously shaped and muscular. And as unwilling to stop as she was, taken from the fire burning in his eyes. Lenka gulped and let her gaze wander south and the little piece of sanity disappeared with a frizzling sound. Oh. Now that was... promising. She was in for a good ride for sure. If he fit could into her. Oh God. Her breath hitched, pulse thrumming in her ears and a a gazillion of butterflies set off in her stomach.

Muu climbed back onto the bed to kiss her again, his fingers brushed over the skin of her tights before grabbing the dress' hem and pulled it over her head. Red eyes widened he saw her lying on the mattress, wearing only a small piece of cloth to cover her modesty before he cupped her ample breasts, a low whimper escaped her when he started to rub the hard pink nipples. Lenka couldn't help but to moan in pleasure as he sucked at them, her fingers tangled in the long red hair that was so much like a mane and gasped when he scraped his teeth over them. Muu chuckled then blew over the wet tip.

"You're so beautiful. If just your skin tastes this good..."

Her hips jolted upwards as his hand sneaked under the cloth and the thumb stroked the sensitive nub while another finger pushed inside. She pressed her hands over her mouth to muffle her cries, when he added another finger and started a slow rhythm that drove her mad, the burning got stronger with every second until her body convulsed and the tension caused by the potion erupted like a volcano, leaving her boneless and panting.

Grinning smugly Muu pulled his fingers out then licked her cum from them, not breaking the eye-contact with a blushing Lenka.

"Delicious."

Her mind was in a daze as he pulled down her underwear and positioned himself between her legs, then cupped her face in his left, thumb caressing her cheek. Skin flustered, gray eyes clouded with lust and cherry-red lips slightly parted as she answered his stare.

"Look only at me, Lenka."

"Please...," she whispered then gasped and wrapped her arm around his neck as he entered her with a swift thrust. Good. So good. What had she denied herself the past years if this could feel so good? She frowned at Muu who stared at her in concern and shock, his jaws clenched as he was trying not to move.

"Are you okay? You're so tight. We're you...?"

She shook her head as her eyes teared up at his worried glance.

"No, I'm not. You're so sweet."

Lenka kissed him and moaned against his lips as he started to move slowly at first then gradually sped up. Murmuring her name and small words while he placed small kisses on her face, her neck, nibbled at her shoulder while she dug her nails in his back as the different sensations overflowed her mind, her body tingled and her breath came out in little whimpers, pleading for more. And he gave her more, bent her legs to thrust deeper to loose himself inside her when she responded his movement eagerly. Her vision blackened for a second in intense, raw pleasure as her muscles contracted around him and she came with a muffled scream. Muu followed her a moment later with a deep grow that rivaled a lion's and collapsed, pressing her into the mattress before he rolled to the side and pulled her against his chest to caress her back while they slowly calmed down.

The smell of tears made him look down.

"Hey, don't cry, don't cry. I'm sorry," he murmured and pressed a kiss on her hair as she buried her face in his neck.

"I'm sorry, Muu. Sorry for making you do this."

He swallowed and stroked the back of her head when she started sobbing.

"It's not. It was my free will. You forced me to nothing."

"How aren't you disgusted by me?" she asked and the heartfelt desperation caused his stomach to churn. Just what had happened to her in her past? He continued to pet her, comfort with small words and hushing sounds until she calmed down, inhaled deeply then looked up to meet his gaze.

"My father raped me when I was eleven."

His body froze for a second but she continued nevertheless.

"He burned marks in my shoulder to make me remember to obey him. The tree holes. With his cigar. It hurt so much I nearly suffocated on my own vomit. He said that he had to do this because I killed my twin at birth. He threatened to kill me if I told anyone. Cut me with the knife he used to open letters with. Small wounds that would not scar.

He started to control my life. Tried to form me after his wishes because he thinks I'm not a suitable heir. Treated me like a dog. I even had a collar and a lash. Red leather. Steel chain. My stepmother encouraged him, said this would be the only way to raise me."

Lenka fell silent for a few seconds, maybe a minute and traced small patterns on his skin before speaking again.

"They tried to break me. They succeeded, more or less. I started to sneak out at night to pick fights with other people. I won. Always won. Grew tired of this. Distracted myself with learning. Suffocated in the environment I grew up in. Tried to get out and failed. Again and again. Finally I realized that I'm not the only one. I have a sister. I should protect her. I left her alone in this place."

She chuckled weakly and rubbed her eyes.

"Now you know the ugly truth about me. The truth not even my best friend Micaela knows.

I want to kill him. To make him pay for what he did to me. Make him suffer for hours and days and years until he begs me to kill him. And then I will refuse to do it myself to show him his place.

What a warped, ugly thing I am."

Suddenly she sat up to look at him, her cheeks stained from the running mascara but her eyes were clear and silver in the moonlight.

"You can leave now if you want. Now that you know me I'm sure you would like to run away more than everything else. Do and don't look back, 'cause I'll be gone soon anyway."

He stared at her for so long that she had to look down to escape the piercing gaze, distract herself with the sheets to forget what she had just told him, to forget the past she had revealed in a moment of weakness, to build up her walls again. The mattress shifted and her eyes teared up again so she closed them so that he was unable to see her cying and she couldn't see him leaving.

This was the end.

Muu's fingers cupped her cheek then his lips brushed over hers, light and soft and oh so gentle. The fluttering feeling in her stomach returned when he slipped his other arm around her to pull her on his lap and into a warm embrace.

"I'll stay."

She was unable to say which emotion had caused the tears that now ran down her face as she kissed him again and everything that had tormented her gradually faded away, slowly, so slowly.

Lenka would think of them when the sun was again.

* * *

Muu left early the next morning, sneaking out of the house so that no one of her neighbors would start talking. Lenka was still sleeping as the after-effects of the potion were still active. Her confession laid like a stone in his stomach. Which father would do something like that to his daughter? And what should he do now? Or rather, what could he do for her?

When he arrived at the training grounds some of the corps' members were already training and a strong feeling of pride filled his chest. He had achieved this. Made a place for them where they could come to and be themselves.

Oh Solomon what had he done the night before?

He had never imagined something like this would happen but now here he was standing and his sister and Lolo were walking up to him, looking at him with smug grins, faces that said 'I know what you did last night and want to hear everything, come on, you're our brother and best friend, out with the dirty details'.

Lolo punched against his shoulder so hard his knees almost gave in, but he continued to smile at them.

"Captain! I see you're up early. So did you do it with blondie?"

Myron hit the scarred man's arm.

"What a rude way to ask. We perceived that you had left the festivities early yesterday even though you didn't consume much alcohol, which is very unlike you. So we questioned Razol who told us you were bringing Lenka home as she had been feeling unwell. After you didn't return we assumed things were going well for you."

That was his sister, acting refined like she was the daughter of the emperor.

"So did you do her or not?"

"I warned you, you crude man, don't talk like this in public or you'll ruin my brother's reputation!"

And that was her other side, always picking fights with her fellow household-member.

"Come on, be nice to each other," he said and tried to separate the two who were standing nose at nose glaring daggers at the other. This had the effect he wished for but unfortunately they were focusing on him again.

"So? Did you?"

"Mister Muu?"

He looked down at Miran and almost flinched at the expression in the kid's eyes. Cold and hard and dead serious.

"Where is Lenka? You smell like her, but why isn't she here with you?"

"She was feeling unwell yesterday so I brought her home. She is probably still sleeping."

That was not exactly the truth but better than lying completely, or worse, telling the truth. Miran's eyes narrowed even more and a feral glint appeared in the crimson depths.

"I warn you, Muu Alexius. If you did something bad to her I will fight you. I don't care if you have a djinn and I'm still a kid. I will resort to everything I've got to win. As a fellow fanalis I ask you not to play with Lenka."

Muu nodded earnestly.

"I fully understand your position. I have no intentions to make her sad."

Miran stared at him for a few more seconds then nodded.

"Remember my words."

"Brother, what have you done to be threatened like this?"

He sighed and raised his face to the sun just to see the clouds gathering to block the light.

"I will try to get things right again."

* * *

 **I'm sorry! *runs away screaming in terror* really, but this part of Lenka's past was planned from the start, so please stay away with the burning torches and stakes! I'm not a vampire, but everyone would die from that!  
**

… **Aaah! *almost passes out from nosebleed* I can't believe I wrote *that* scene! My fall into depravity has begun... ages ago. When I was introduced to FanFiction. Sorry! *hides under the carpet*  
**

 **Yeah, well, thanks for the reviews for the last chapter!**

 **Kankri: Did you read my notes? Did you?! *points at the chapter* I nearly fell from the chair when I read that review! *hands you a cookie***

 **Nemeria: You left nothing, it's just that Lenka one day decided Alibaba was her pet. She has this strange moods some days... the same moods that caused her to think that it would be a good idea to act all grown-up and learn cooking on her own. You know, those moods that sound perfectly logical and are in reality just absolutely insane?**

 **Orias in a pink apron: He's been forced to provide edible dishes for the others but Eligos loves messing with her peers. So she stole his other apron and forced him to wear the pink one. Orias disapproves of it but getting tomato sauce stains from the chains is a pain, so he wears it. And when the others complain about his food he gets quite nasty.**

 **Your question of the wedding has been delivered to Lenka. She nearly fainted, had a screaming fit and now begs you not to tell her family in this world because she fears Micaela will start sewing the dress. But you would come to help with the flowers, wouldn't you? ;D**

 **I made Muu's family up because I found nothing in cannon as well and hope Ohtaka doesn't specify in the future. Because of the strict patriarchal ancient Roman society I thought his mother had to be the fanalis, or else it wouldn't have worked out with him and Myron being half-bloods and part of the Alexius family.**

 **The plot: Secret! Secret! I won't say a thing without my lawyer!**

 **Your side thought: You're absolutely right. Al-Thamen would never survive Justin Bieber. Sorry to the Believers reading my story, but can you imagine Justin singing his songs to Ithnaan and calling him 'baby'? I can, and it's hilarious.**

 **Star Wars: I save the story on a R2D2 USB stick. Hell yes! And have Vader ice cubes to my drink!**

 ***gives you a cookie***

 **As always, I would appreciate if you'd continue to read the story, because it will get better from this point on. Thanks and sweets to everyone who read, favorited, followed and reviewed the last chapter!**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	23. Chapter 23 plus omake

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes because I do the correcting stuff on my own and English is not my native language.**

 **And the madness continues.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 23: Will you keep running?

A chill woke Lenka, even though she was wrapped up in the blanket like a burrito. Her mouth was as dry as the Sahara and she felt definitely hungover. Plus her muscles were sore in places where-

"Oh God!" she yelled and sat up, looking around in growing panic. The sheets were in disarray, but they were like that every morning. Her metal vessels and dress were scattered around the room like she hadn't been aware what she was doing when taking them off. This was unusual. She was actually a bit pedantic. She must have been really drunk. Or maybe...

She wrapped the blanket around her like a towel dress then tip-toed out of the room, stopping every three feet or so to listen for voices or someone breathing, then downstairs too peek into the living room, the study and finally the kitchen. The house really was empty. Had she been dreaming? If yes, this dream had been very nice. Or rather, the four of them. Erotic dreams were mostly good dreams, but this seemed to tell her how sexually starved she actually was. Bugger.

Lenka sighed deeply then yawned on her way to the washroom she had a bit modernized with the help of Gusion. Running water and a modern toilet with an odor-free connection to the cloaca under the streets made life really comfortable. She rubbed her eyes then stretched her arms with another yawn and glanced at her image in the mirror she had found in one of her dungeons and froze.

"... oh fuck."

Her neck and shoulders were covered in hickeys and small bruises and yep, there were teeth markings around one of her collar bones. The trail continued over her breasts, mostly spared her stomach, though there were a few bruises around her waist that eerily reminded her of finger prints, and several more on her tights.

She gulped heavily then bowed towards the glass to look closer at one of them. This shade of purple didn't really go well with her hair. Why hadn't the enhanced healing kicked in to make them disappear? Perhaps they thought love bites were insignificant.

Her skin was more sensitive than usual as she sat down in the tub to wash herself clean with a sponge during the bath then sighed and leaned against the metal to think.

Now this was bad. All her inner walls had fallen and she had let him see the dark, ugly truth which she had kept hidden from the world. What did he think of her now? Was he perhaps disgusted, finding out that she had been defiled, held those grudges against her father? Patricide was one of the worst crimes one could commit in Roman society, was this the same over here? Luckily she hadn't been one of the Vestalian virgins, they had been killed when they had been raped. But even so...

If she could just talk to Micaela, all of her problems would would be more bearable. She could almost see the face her friend would make when hearing that Lenka had been in _Magi_ , meeting the protagonists and conquering dungeons. Surprised, jumping on the creaking sofa in the living room of her flat in excitement, eyes wide when hearing of the dangerous adventures, laughing tears...

Solomon, she wanted to go home. Wanted to curl into a ball in a dark corner of her bedroom in her safe house, break down emotionally, cry in confusion and stress, doing nothing else for the rest of the day until her eyes were red and her voice was gone.

Lenka got out of the tub, flinching in discomfort as she rubbed herself dry then wrapped the blanket around her again and wandered into the kitchen to get herself something to eat. She took out the bread and reached for a knife to cut herself some slices then hissed in surprise and pain. Blood trickled from the cut on her thumb then stopped running. A few seconds later only a rosy line was the evidence of her carelessness. Slowly she picked up the knife and inspected the blade. Sharp and mirroring her image in the sunlight, a small stain where it had cut her finger. Lenka gulped and lowered the knife with morbid fascination until the metal scraped over the skin of her left forearm. Her hand was shaking, sometimes touching one of the faint white lines the razor blades had left, almost invisible despite her tan. Along the arm, not across the wrist. Should she or shouldn't she? Her breath quickened and she licked her lips, wondering when they got so dry – and frowned. What the hell was she doing?

With a muffled cry she dropped the knife and raced upstairs, jumped on the bed and almost instantly hurried away again. The mattress smelled like him! Lenka backed off until she felt the wall in her back then slowly slid down, wrapping the blanket around her like a shield at the same time, completely hiding herself from the world. A sob escaped her, followed by another when the tears started running slowly.

"Oh god... what have I done?"

She had fucked up. Destroyed the chance of leaving Reim without strains, without partings drowning in tears and promises of things she could never keep. Destroyed the chance of having a real, realistic relationship with someone she liked, even hoped to love, but now... everything had shattered, broken, was beyond repair. She was beyond repair. Everything seemed to slip away, her past, her secrets, her hopes, Muu, Miran- Miran.

She was crying without restraints now. Miran, her cute, funny, adorable, brave little companion. A younger version of Henry, but with way more mischief and trauma, an angel, light in the hours when she had been utterly confused by Muu and the strange way he behaved. When he tried to court her. Miran.

"Don't leave me. Please don't leave me."

She sniffed, tried to swallow the growing lump in her throat then peeked outside her cocoon and crawled over to snatch her metal vessels and returned to her corner, hugging them tightly, trying to seek comfort in the warm feeling of the power thrumming in them, but failed miserably. As soon as the connection to her mind was enabled and the djinn carefully touched her conscience she broke down completely, the tears simply wouldn't stop running despite the soothing feelings transmitted to her.

 _Lenka..._

 _Don't cry, don't cry._

 _We are here for you._

… _what happened to you?_

She swallowed down another fit of hysterical sobbing then slowly lowered the walls, pushed the door to the abyss inside her memories open for them to enter. By the time they were through the faces of the twins had went from a very light blue to a fierce growl and then an embarrassed pink, Eligos had done the same evolution and Gusion had maintained her normal blue color, the only things that had changed were her flippers to claws then back to flippers.

… _I sure have to admit that he has stamina. Your captain I mean. Even though you had only showed us glimpses..._

 _I don't want any more Lenka-porn ghosting through my head, thank you very much,_ Orobas snapped and took a even deeper shade of pink, Orias did the same.

 _Eligos wants to skin the person who poisoned you alive and persuade Gusion to make her an aphrodisiac._

 _Oh, please spare us,_ the twins screamed in unison and hugged each other for protection. The female djinn pouted and crossed her arms and legs, not easy while being enthroned on a heap of pillows.

 _Then Eligos will only skin the evil-doer and wrap the guts around a pole for the vultures._

 _Ooh, that sounds good,_ the others agreed. Gusion suddenly leaned forward and stared at Lenka, the dark eyes full of concern and guilt.

 _I'm sorry for what happened. I tried to change the poison into something else, make it non-fatal, but wasn't entirely sure how it would react with your human metabolism. For someone like me it would have been a simple sleeping drug, not an aphrodisiac, something that would make you talk nor a fatal acid. I'm sorry._

Lenka smiled and mentally scratched the djinn behind the jackal ears.

"I know. You always do your best for me. You all do."

Lenka managed a smile then flopped to the side, blowing a few strands out of her eyes and crossed her arms behind her head.

"So what do I do now?"

…

The four djinn stared at her with helpless expressions.

 _Kill him?_

 _Talk to him?_

 _Fuck him senseless again?_

"Hell no, Eligos!" Lenka yelled and abruptly sat up to give the sword and indignant glare – not that there was some use in it, the sword had no eyes. She leaned back with a sigh then touched the forearm protector.

"Gusion? Any plans?"

… _go talk to Scheherazade. You need to do something, may it be only a one-day trip to the border to kill some bandits, or else you'll be in here until the Magnostadt war._

 _That is actually a good idea,_ Orias said in awe.

 _Since when did you have ideas this good?_

 _I was the one who told her to go to Reim the first place, so it should be my responsibility to get her around as well._

"Gusion, have I ever told you that I should start worshiping you next to the internet, chocolate, modern sanitary facilities and fanfiction?"

 _No, but I think I would like to have some statues of mine around for Orobas to clean with a feathery fan,_ the djinn said amused while the other pouted and took exactly the same posture as Eligos, albeit without the five cushions. He snorted in annoyance.

 _And what makes you think that Scheherazade can do something?_

Gusion and Orias looked at him as if he hadn't got a common truth, for example that grass was green.

… _she is old?_

 _She controls Reim?_

 _Okay, okay, shame over me for forgetting that she's_ old _! Yunan is old as well!_

 _But Yunan isn't female, nor knowledgeable of the matters between men and women,_ Gusion deadpanned.

"Great, so I go to the big over-lady and tell her what? Sorry, Scheherazade, I slept with your favorite fanalis dungeon capturer and now I'm trying to kill myself in shame, please sent me away or kill me?"

 _Lenka, stop whining like a little girl,_ Orobas growled and gave her a mental clout. _You were drugged, he agreed so it wasn't entirely your fault so stop crying for things in the past and start living in this world, for Solomon's sake! When did you become such a crybaby? Orias and I have suffered similar things!_

She flinched at the scolding then lowered her head. He was so damn right it almost hurt even more than the pictures dwelling up in front of her inner eye. The djinn were right, there was no point in sitting and waiting for the problem to disappear into nothingness. She had to bite into the sour apple and do this herself. Grow up.

"Yeah, you're right. I should go."

Hopefully she could get an audience with Scheherazade easily, after becoming one of her dungeon capturers. Dressing took it's time as she had to find a top that covered her stomach and her shoulders. She wrapped her scarf around her neck then went down to the kitchen as the door opened and Miran stormed in, taking a quick look around then jumped into her arms.

"Lenka! Are you better? Muu said you didn't feel well so I came back home to look after you!"

A lump formed in her throat as she hugged back. Home. To look after her. Solomon, how much she would miss this child.

"Oh Miran," she whispered then inwardly winched. Her voice was deeper than usual and a little raspy. "Thank you."

He leaned back to study her face with concern, frowning at a bruise the scarf had revealed and then – she couldn't believe it – growled like a wild animal.

"You were crying. I told him I would kill him if he made you cry. Guess I have to borrow Orobas now."

"Miran!"

Lenka was shocked. "Don't speak of killing someone that easily!"

"I told him I would kill him if he made you cry," he repeated with fierce determination. She shook her head and sighed again then sat down cross-legged, pulling him down as well.

"Miran, I forbid you killing Muu Alexius, you hear me? Don't roll your eyes at me, young man!"

He pouted and crossed his arms as well so that he matched with Orobas and Eligos.

"Fine. I won't kill him. Yet," he added with a scowl at the bite marks on her neck. Frowning she placed a hand over them.

"Don't stare. It makes me uncomfortable. Feels like I did something bad. I've castigated myself enough already, no need for you to add something to the big pile of, er, you know what I mean.

Damn, being an adult is so difficult."

"I don't want to grow up if it means getting such bruises."

"Getting them was actually quite fun- argh! No! I never said that! Censor the last sentences! You're too young! Not until you're as old as me!"

"Solomon, that is old," he groaned in fake desperation then escaped her tickling fingers with a joyful squeal and looked at her curiously from behind the sofa.

"So why were you crying?"

"Jesus, Miran, I said forget what I said!" Lenka yelled and looked ashamed the instant the words left her mouth.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to scream."

"It's okay, Myron was like that, too," he said with a shrug. "Razol said Lolo didn't satisfy her properly."

Lenka's jaw fell as she looked wide-eyed at the nine year old boy who was hopefully completely unaware of what he had just said.

"Holy Solomon what's going on?! The founder's feast is cursed!"

"Marcus said that as well, Inara's standing next to herself, too. Flavia and her friends are all flinching when we are too noisy and their eyes are really small and have bags under them. Must have been something in the wine."

 _Oh God, why is is he perceiving absolutely everything? Poor guys, all hungover._

 _He is worth becoming my household member,_ Gusion said dignified, causing the other djinn to yell their protest, Miran was more worth to become mine/mine/Eligos' household, no mine/mine/mine/Eligos! The blonde sighed and massaged her temple with her fingers as Freddie Mercury began to sing _I'm going slightly mad_.

"I'm planning to leave Reim," she blurted out without thinking. Miran cocked his head and returned to her side to look at her face.

"Is it really that bad? I can kick him for you if that's the problem. Or stare until he begs for forgiveness."

"He's not the problem. I am the problem," admitted Lenka with a deep sigh. Really, she was sighing almost every minute now. What a pain in the metaphorical ass. The boy patted her head and tickled her nose with one of the long blond strands.

"I bet we'll figure out a way to overcome this."

"We?"

Miran nodded earnestly.

"Of course we will. I'll stay with you forever and ever after, until you're old enough to take care of things on your own."

Her heart stuttered at the feelings that flooded her again. She truly, deeply loved Miran. He was family, a part of her life. She should tell him everything. Now or never. She inhaled deeply.

"Miran, Inara asked if she could adopt you. You could become Marcus' brother for real, have a new mother, a new father, a life in safety-"

"But I choose you," he interrupted with a frown. Lenka's heart skipped a beat.

"Inara told me yesterday about this. I told her that I was honored, but had a place where I belonged already."

His big red eyes were fixated on her face, filled with determination and softness and a silent plea to accept him, his will, his decision.

"You are my family, Lenka. You and your djinn. You are everything left I have. Please let me stay with you."

Even if the world suddenly fell into complete depravity, Al-Thamen stormed her door and started to throw water balloons, ice spears or fire balls at her, Lenka wouldn't have cared for them. Her eyes started to tear up again and she hugged him fiercely. Miran would stay at her side! A weight seemed to have disappeared from her consciousness, leaving her sobbing with relief and joy and thanking him over and over again. The boy sighed and continued to pat her back to ease her, even though she was sure that he had to fight back the tears as well. This unconditional trust was perhaps more than she deserved. Today was surely the day of crying, running nose and puffy red eyes. But it was so worth it.

"When did you become so mature?"

"Myron and Lolo asked me if I was your household member, because they were sure I was, and then they were really shocked. They are Muu's, you know, and they have this gauntlets that can destroy things, Myron showed me how to do. But I don't have a gauntlet, all I have is the dagger, but I'm afraid I'll loose it," he admitted with a blush and pulled the knife from his sash.

"Can't you find a blacksmith to make something I won't loose?"

… _gimme that._

Lenka took the dagger in her hands and frowned as Gusion used their connection to melt the metal into a puddle then re-formed it to a set of brass knuckles.

… _dum dum dumm!_

Miran squealed in joy and pulled them over his fingers.

"Thanks, Gusion!"

 _See, he knows who I am._

 _Because you can melt cities._

 _Indeed I can. Tell him I will adjust them when he grows._

Lenka passed the message causing the boy to pat the forearm protector happily before looking at her again.

"So what will you do now?"

Shrugging she stood up and brushed dust off her pants.

"I think I will go to Scheherazade now and ask her if she could send me on a quest or such. Far away from here."

"I will pack my bags then and say good-bye to my friends," Miran mused and waved as she left the house on her way to the temple of the highest priestess.

"I don't think we'll leave tomorrow, but warn them that we might leave for a bit."

 _See, dearest, you aren't alone,_ Orobas hummed.

 _You are never alone._

* * *

The guards seemed to remember her face and let her inside without second thought. Scheherazade was sitting on the same throne as the last time, this time a few more nobles were in the vast hall as well. Lenka bowed deeply in front of the Magi. Now she had to convince another powerful being of her plan.

"Lady Scheherazade, I have a request to make as you are the one who can fulfill it."

The petite blonde opened her eyes.

"Speak."

"Please sent me away. I know it's a huge think to demand," she said and apologetically raised her hands, "but I fear that I'm... becoming restless, dangerous. I'm an unsheathed blade that has to be used, not to rest and rust in a city as peaceful as this."

Scheherazade scanned her for the better part of a second.

"Is there another reason as well?"

Well, yes, she wanted to answer but sighed and shrugged instead.

"Unfinished business. Too much unfinished business."

 _Cough, Muu Alexius, cough._

 _Shut up Orobas._

The Magi slowly tilted her head to the side.

"I see. That is a very bold question you ask, Marlene-Karen Sensenmacher, child of another sun. Yet I can see that a veil has been lifted and a wall has fallen, a wall that has protected you from the world."

Lenka lowered her head in agree and Scheherazade continued.

"As you already know, war draws near. Reim needs every force they have, and it pains me to think of the future. However, I will grant your request. Publius Claudius Naso, come forth."

She knew why the man had the additional name 'the one who has a nose' – or something like that, her Latin had suffered greatly already – the instant she saw his face, and what a nose it was! Surely he was trying to compensate something with that organ. Trying not to start giggling was hard as her djinn were already roaring with laughter. Nose-man, she was so going to call him Nose-man, was a noble at least five years older than she was, with short-cropped, mousy-brown hair and an expression that showed that he thought of himself as something better. How many of those guys lived in Reim?

 _There is nose-one like him,_ Eligos cried and thrummed with her fists on the floor between hysterical giggles.

 _Oh shut it_ , Lenka thought as the man bowed in front of the Magi and almost hit her with his flailing arm.

"Nose to meet you, too," she murmured and rubbed her left wrist. Oh, she was so going to continue this, the way he gave her the creeped stare was just the right thing to lighten her mood. She was sure that Scheherazade suppressed a smile as well.

"Publius Claudius Naso is going into a dungeon and you will accompany him."

"So, you want me to get him safely to the treasure room so he has the possibility to get to see a dungeon for the first and last time in his life and with exceptionally huge luck get the djinn to choose him?"

"Precisely."

"Okay," Lenka said with a shrug, the Nose-ter looked at her like she was completely insane and the rest of the people in the hall did as well. Seemed like she was recovering from her breakdown at the speed of sound.

"If the possibility arises that the djinn will choose me, can I accept?"

Nose-man opened his mouth to say something but a clatter interrupted him as Muu Alexius entered the hall, and holy Solomon, he had some hickeys as well but unlike her he made no efforts to cover them. Her stomach seemed to drop to her knees as he walked towards the Magi, every step powerful and efficient.

 _No Lenka, don't blush because you know what a divine body is hidden under that armour and what things he can do with those fingers and his mouth and damn I'm really insane, right, just don't blush don't blush don't blush damn you depraved fangirl mind..._

For the sanity of every other person involved, just what had Gusion accidentally made from the poison that was supposed to melt her intestines? Super-Viagra? I will make you spill your secrets deluxe? Idiotic fangirl tonic?

His face showed an interesting mixture of confusion, embarrassment, guilt when he noticed her and then determination when he bowed in front of Scheherazade.

"My Lady, pardon the intrusion."

"Muu. What leads you here today?"

Lenka considered making a mad dash for the exit then abandoned the idea. This would be the most obvious thing she had done up until now, and she had done many obvious and stupid things in her past, so she simply raise a brow when he glanced at her for a moment.

 _Lenka, pardon me, but this guy is even more obvious than my brother, which is a miracle in itself,_ Orias stated dryly, causing Orobas glare at him before whispering something that made his younger twin blush fiercely and hide his face in a cushion.

"I heard that the new dungeon conquest will take place soon and wanted to offer my guidance."

 _Oh. Argh. Not good._

The Magi looked at the fanalis for a second then at Lenka and Naso.

"If the other participants don't have anything against it I will allow you and your household to enter the dungeon together with Marlene-Karen and Publius Claudius Naso."

 _I am starting to think that I am fated to be followed by chaos and disaster._

 _So are we, dearest,_ Orobas agreed with a sad smile.

"Is here something you want to add, Marlene-Karen?"

Lenka flinched then shook her head.

"I'm in a position where I can't express criticism or a personal opinion beside my gratitude upon your gracefulness."

 _Whoa, that was smooth, I need to learn something from you,_ Orobas murmured as Scheherazade's cheeks took a faint pink.

"Sinbad warned me not to trust you in his letter. I think this was a bit unjustified, or maybe not?"

Lenka sighed gravely and rubbed her temples. Headache ahoy.

"Look, I may speak without thinking first most of the time but I assure you, I am no threat to your country, nor his or another."

"He wrote very unpleasant things, which I deem to be untrue after meeting you, as you are no woman who would use her body to gain things."

Her jaw fell in shock before her brain caught up to the Magi's words.

"He wrote WHAT?"

Scheherazade blinked slowly, apparently uncomfortable with the screaming as were some of the nobles in the hall. Muu gripped the hilt of his metal vessel, his eyes started to shine even more than usually, but this time with the urge to maim someone, and a certain purple-haired king in particular.

"He has a very... colorful way of expressing his opinion, to put it nicely. I'd rather not repeat the full content," she said with a dangerous glint in her eyes. Lenka grabbed the hilt of her sword so tightly that her knuckled turned white. And then her anger and frustration exploded in a screaming fit.

"Just what the hell is wrong with him? The various blows he'd received up until now must have made him stupid! Or maybe he caught a disease that made his brain rot after jumping at every girl that wasn't up in a tree up to counting to two! Just why in Solomon's name would he behave like a jealous bitch when her boyfriend has a new girl? Bloody hell, what did I do to him – or rather, I know what I didn't do with him! Ha! I must be the first one ever to refuse his attempts! But argh, why? Why? Damn you Sinbad, if I could I would walk straight over the ocean just to kick your ass to Kou! I make you gurgle with the seven seas and then tell your fangirls that you are lusting after livestock! I let Orobas torture you for an entire week, Eligos cook for you and have you listen to German folk music until you speak in rhymes and beg for forgiveness because the only thing you'll ever lick is the dirt off my boots!

Goddamn it I'm so pissed off by the likes of him! Fucking perverted stupid king! Fudge my life why do all of those things happen to me at the moment?! I don't have a sign on my back 'please torture Lenka, she deserves some more mental scarring', do I? And even if I had, this would never give him permission to do so! Fudge, fudge, fudge I say!"

The bystanders stared at her with big eyes as she paced back and forth, threw her hands up at the sheer idiocy of the situation until she stopped to catch her breath.

"Okay. So what I was going to say was that the things he wrote are not true."

"I figured out as much," Scheherazade nodded with a small smile.

"Very informative. And creative nonetheless. Very well, as this matter has now been taken care of all I can do is wishing you good luck for the dungeon conquest. You will leave the day after tomorrow at the western gate. Transport and food will be provided."

Lenka and Naso bowed, Muu did a second later. The foreigner nodded thankfully to the Magi.

"I will be making preparations then."

When she was almost at the door leading out of the hall Scheherazade raised her voice one last time.

"Will you keep running, Marlene-Karen?"

Lenka froze instantly and felt the gaze of the other woman on her back like two hot stones. Yes, she was running away, but only because she couldn't find another way out of the situation. But the Magi was right; she was always running, running away from her old life, from the responsibility, from her father and this trend continued, she had been running when Judar asked her to be his king vessel, she ran from Sindria the same day when she could have stayed there and discussed things with Sinbad.

She was running away again, but this time not from her task given by Solomon but her feelings, as confused and hazy as they were.

She straightened her back then turned around to the Magi to return the questioning look.

"I hope this time will be the last. Thank you for your guidance, Lady Scheherazade."

"May the Rukh continue to guide you, Lenka the traveler."

* * *

"Heyyy Alibaba!" Lenka said and knocked against the door frame. The other blonde dungeon capturer looked up from a scratch on his arm and grinned wide.

"Hello, Lenka! Haven't seen you in ages. I mean, I saw you yesterday at the founder's festival, you looked really pretty."

"Thanks," she said and dropped down on a chair and rubbed her eyes with a sigh.

"I don't know where to start..."

"Oh Solomon," Alibaba murmured then asked louder, "What happened? I can see that something isn't right."

"I'll be leaving Remano in two days."

"He blinked and sat down on another chair.

"Okay. So what did you do? No, I don't want to know," he yelped as Lenka blushed bright red.

"I messed up royally," she admitted. Alibaba rolled his eyes.

"This is what? The third time? First was in Balbadd when you went with Kougyoku, the second when you went with the weirdo instead of staying in Sindria and now is the third time. Seriously, I really don't want to know what you did, but as master of messing up I tell you something: you need to fix this somehow or it will become an habit and haunt you forever."

"I know," Lenka groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Scheherazade sent it on a dungeon conquest with me."

Alibaba groaned as well and reached for a jug on the table.

"This screams for alcohol. Want a cup?"

"Never again, I made a terrible experience yesterday. Got poisoned," she explained at his curious glance that instantly turned shocked.

"You got POISONED?"

Sighing gravely she leaned back to balance on the chair.

"And this was the beginning of the story."

Alibaba shook his head and muttered some intelligible words.

"I wish you well then. Good luck on your conquest."

"I'm glad I have met you, Alibaba," smiled the foreigner then gave him a peck on the cheek before leaving the room. Toto waited outside, her brown eyes full of concern.

"Toto wishes you well, Lenka. Maybe we'll meet again for a spar."

"Of course we will," the blonde said and hugged her.

"There is no way I would die on the way, after all."

* * *

It was late afternoon when she got home to prepare their departure from Remano. Miran wasn't back yet so Lenka decided to wait with cooking dinner for his return and started packing her things, which was hardly difficult as she only had to stuff everything she found into the black hole, including a few scrolls from her personal library about the history of Reim and dungeons. The former owner must have been a buddy of Nerva the emperor's son or a historian of the Empire, either way she was glad that she was now in possession of the scrolls.

A knock on the door interrupted her scanning of the study. Wondering if this was Miran she opened – and before she could even blink someone grabbed her wrist and threw her into the wall on the other side of the street. Gusion tried to cushion her but the impact pressed the air out of her lungs, her teeth clashed together and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.

 _Al-Thamen!_ , was her first thought when she picked herself up and managed to block another attack with her right forearm, a kick that caused her to slide a few meters back before she could catch a glimpse of who was attacking her.

"Huh?

"You wench!"

Lenka dodged Inara's next attack, a punch to her face and grabbed the arm.

"Bloody hell, what is wrong with you?"

A kick in the stomach sent her flying again, her ribs cracked, magic enhancement or not, and breathing became painful while she rolled away from the next kick that caused the ground to break as if a wrecking ball had been dropped to earth from very high. Inara snarled, her red eyes were furious and puffy, as if she had been crying as well.

"Harlot. What have you done, you bitch?"

Lenka's stomach dropped to her knees at the words. Did she know something? She tried to maintain a cool exterior and dusted her pants off.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Please enlighten me about my _imaginative_ misdeeds because I'm sure I _haven't done a thing_ to your husband to make you spit poison like that."

Emphasis on imaginative. And haven't done a thing, just for the crowd that had begun to gather to watch an awesome fight between a female fanalis and the neighbor that was apparently a dungeon capturer. Inara noticed the spectators as well and abandoned her aggressive stance to point with a finger on her.

"You are a foul woman, Lenka, a whore that spreads her legs for every single man to gain favors, a bitch that wags her tail at her superiors and crawls in front of them, lusting for power and influence, a traitorous hoe, a lackey of Kou and spy from Magnostadt! Sent here with the intentions to assassinate Scheherazade and destroy Reim!"

"I said give me your reasons, Inara, not the lies people are spouting from envy," she replied cold but her mind was wincing in embarrassment and agony at the stares of the onlookers. So many, and more were streaming toward the street, staring, glaring, glancing, attracted by the furious yells of the fanalis whose words were pushing the right buttons inside their heads. Their Rukh started to flutter according to their moods, curious trills turning into cries for blood and murder.

Inara grinned contemptuous and raised her hands, as if to say 'Am I not right, people?'.

"I said you're a hoe-"

"And a wench, a whore, a harlot and so on. Which I am not. And where are your foundations for this hilarious accusations?"

"They are visible to everyone! On your neck!"

Lenka frowned and raised her hand to her scarf which had unwrapped during the fight and left the countless bruises uncovered. Bile rose from her guts and she swallowed heavily and shrugged again.

"Okay, I give you that one. But me having hickeys as many young woman are having after a festival like yesterday where most people were drunk doesn't make me a hoe.

Have you other reasons why you were pulling me out of my home, throwing me into a wall and then physically and verbally abusing me? If so, then tell me."

Inara inhaled and Lenka feared what she would say. Her skin tingled under the stares.

"You refused my and my husband's generous, heartfelt offer to adopt Miran. Why would you deny a couple who could clearly, obviously could raise a child better than you, an unbound who is apparently a shady individual, the right to do so?!"

Shouts and cheers of agree were heard, mostly from females who had children as well.

"What could you do better than I can?"

And the fanalis had hit the nail on the head – was she able to raise Miran so that he could have a good, safe childhood? Able to give him advice to become a fine man? Able to stay at his side, be there for him and still continue to fulfill Solomon's wish?

You are my family, his words echoed in her head. Family. I will stay by your side. Forever.

To hell with envious fanalis. Lenka straightened and looked Inara in the face.

"He is my family. He has chosen to stay with me. I didn't force him to anything. It was his decision which he made by himself."

"Lies! You are a lying whore!"

And then the first missile came flying and her vision blackened.

 _Lenka!_

 _My queen!_

 _Lenky!_

… _are you okay?_ Gusion asked. Lenka groaned and sat up.

"Holy Solomon, that hurt – wait, where am I?"

She was sitting on a huge brown leather couch in front of a gargantuan flat screen. Gusion touched her head with a flipper and nodded.

T _his will heal. We couldn't continue watching this._

 _We were really concerned,_ Eligos declared and wrapped her thin arms around Lenka's neck and pressed a kiss on her cheek. The human blinked surprised at the warmth and substance of the small body then at Orias who nervously fumbled with the chains attached to his chokers, his expression a mixture of guilt, concern, worry and determination.

She reached out and patted his hand, noticing that he was a lot bigger than her while Eligos had the size of a twelve year old and Gusion was about seven feet tall.

"Orias, I'm okay, beside the fact that I'm really confused about my whereabouts."

 _I'm sorry, I couldn't stop him,_ he answered with a whisper.

"You couldn't stop who? And where is – oh my God."

 _He took over your body._

"How?"

Her first reaction should be screaming in shock, but the presence of her djinn, the physical presence lulled her into satisfaction. Gusion took over to explain.

 _Apparently this is the final stage of something called the warrior project. It's similar to the medium._

Lenka frowned for a second before her eyes widened.

"Physical materialization in the outside world?!"

 _That was the plan. That is why Solomon altered your body. We djinn should take over to guard and protect Prince Aladdin, as he is the proxy of our dear king_ , Orias said calmer than he looked.

 _You may have noticed that you can't control the Rukh like you did shortly after arriving in this world. They will give you energy, but nothing more, and only to keep you from dying. The possession is the final stage of something called the warrior plan or so I've heard. You are complete now, Lenka. This is what you as the warrior should be in the first place, a vessel for the djinn._

"Isn't that extremely dangerous?"

… _we don't know exactly how dangerous. This might cause your cells to deteriorate faster than they can heal your body from the strain._

She still couldn't find the power to get angry at her djinn, really couldn't. Maybe she was too exhausted or the shock was yet to come, Lenka simply nodded then looked at the flickering screen.

"Let's see what happens."

* * *

Miran raced towards the crowd that had gathered in front of his house, Muu Alexius followed him, taking one step where the boy had to make three. The man had come to him as he was talking to Marcus and Fulvia to inform them of his departure. They had been sad, but he had promised to visit them for sure in the future. He had noticed that Inara had been listening to the conversation but when Muu called him his attention had fully shifted towards the man.

"Will you accompany us?"

"Of course, Lenka is my family after all."

Muu had nodded in agree then looked a bit sheepish and uncomfortable.

"I want to talk with her, but she seems to avoid me. May I come with you when you go home?"

Miran had glared at him but Muu had returned the glare honestly and with determination, so he was okay with him following. Until they hear a woman screaming obscenities and curses.

He weaseled his way through the people when he saw a man, maybe around twenty, that was holding a chunk of wall in his right. The man grinned, showing that he was missing a few teeth as well.

"Go away, this is no place for children."

"My house is there," Miran answered and shoved past a really fat woman that glared at the cause of the commotion. Lenka and Inara. The boy froze. What where they doing? He could smell a mixture of different emotions, rage, confusion, anger, fear, hate, despair... too many to find out the ones that belonged to which of the women in front of him.

"He is my family," Lenka said and Miran realized that they were talking about him! But why where so many things damaged because of them, so many spectators-

"Lies! You are a lying whore!"

He didn't know the word, but it was certainly something bad as Lenka paled a bit more – and then the stone hit her temple. Miran screamed as her knees gave in and she slumped down for a second. Inara heard him and turned in his direction, her face paling until she looked like she had become a ghost.

"M-Miran-"

" _Stupid."_

The hairs on his arms stood on edge as he heard a familiar voice and Lenka's figure started to shiver, then grew, her skin darkened to a blue tone like the sky on a sunny, cloudless day, her hair shortened and turned white and horns grew from the sides of her head, big and contorted, the blue so dark it was almost black. Her fingers stretched and the nails turned into sharp claws as the young woman picked herself up again, muscles contracting and relaxing when her arms, legs, the whole body transformed. With a sizzle her clothes turned into long chains, some so delicate that it seemed they could break any second, others big and sturdy like the ones wrapped around narrow hips, acting as belts for the white piece of cloth that looked like a skirt, but every single one was made from pure gold. The white scarf Lenka had been wearing ignited with an audible _whoosh_ to hover over the broad shoulders of the being that stood in the alley, towering easily over the humans. The being raised his head and the spectators gasped in surprise and fear at the third eye embedded on the forehead of the man, and again when he opened his eyes, the irises gleaming golden in the sun.

The full lips twitched upwards into a smile, showing sharp canines as he started to speak.

* * *

Orobas was furious. No, furious was not the right term. Livid, mad, enraged, those words were not strong enough to describe his wrath. He wanted to slaughter the woman that had threatened Lenka, wanted to spill her guts over the floor, burn her skin from her body and feed her with liquid iron to hear her screams of death. No one threatened Lenka without receiving punishment, not Sinbad, not a member of Al-Thamen, no one. He would take care of every single person who was being so suicidal, so utterly mental that they would think about messing with him.

"I can't watch this any longer."

He took over her body. Orobas wasn't really sure how he had managed that, but he grasped the power of hers, the _magoi_ , fueled himself with the stream of electricity to gain physical form in the world, to protect her, to kill, to maim, to burn everything to the ground that was a fiend. And somehow his strong desire catapulted his consciousness, his very soul into her body. He felt Lenka slip by and then the energy he had borrowed turned rampant as an almost unbearable itching and stretching started.

Solomon, why had he been so-

" _Stupid."_

Orobas inhaled deeply, amazed that he could inhale, could smell dirt and food and blood and the bodies of dirty, sweaty humans, could feel corporeal muscles bend and flex, the warmth of the sun on his skin, the hard ground under his bare feet, the weight of cold and warm chains wrapped around him. He could see the movement of the Rukh, thanks to the third eye on his forehead and the strong, overwhelming wrath returned as he spotted his enemy. He inhaled again, raised his face towards the sun and opened his other eyes.

Ah. Light. The sun was so bright. He had almost forgotten how bright it could be. Magnificent. Radiant. Simply the sun. A white sun. Orobas started to grin.

" _I wonder how long it has been since I saw the sun with my very own eyes. Spoke with a voice that more than only one person could hear."_

Maybe he was being a drama queen, as Lenka had teasingly dubbed him, but the faces of the humans down under him were worth it. Orobas blinked slowly and slightly tilted his head to the right to look at the fanalis woman below.

" _So many years have passed that I almost forgot how it feels to kill with my claws."_

His glare pinned her to the ground, froze her in place. Orobas grinned even wider.

" _I am the fifty-fifth djinn of Solomon, Orobas, a spirit of faithfulness and truth. You are not a very faithfully person, are you. Spouting lies and swear words like it suits you."_

He lowered his voice until he found the right volume to make every word sound like silk, smooth and with a low purr he could effortlessly turn into a deep growl.

" _So what were your reasons to scream insults and abuse my dearest, my darling queen I choose over thousands of other men dying in the dungeon of Orobas? Why were you screaming words dripping with poison, indicators of your own incompetence to be a faithful and honest being?"_

A shiver crept up his spine at his own words and voice. Holy Solomon, that was a good show. He was so absolutely great it was almost impossible.

" _Oh no, you don't need to answer me. I can see everything in your eyes. Envy. Grief. Fear."_

And the ugly truth. Orobas' eyes widened for a moment then a furious growl escaped him. The bystanders shied at the eight feet four tall djinn, much to his satisfaction, but the real threat was in font of him, her legs shivering but firmly pressed to the ground as she stared back.

" _You are the one that poisoned her. You made her suffer. You wanted her to die painfully to gain your benefits from that. I should kill you. Rip you into small bloody pieces, splatter your guts all over the place, cook your eyes in your head, burn you to crisps and scatter your ashes in the desert."_

Her legs shuddered even more, now she seemed to realize how dire the situation she was in really was and that he meant every word like he had said it, would make his promise come true with a wide smile and mad enthusiasm.

"Please... I have a son."

Orobas snarled at her but then a tiny figure stepped forward.

"Don't kill he, Orobas."

His snarl turned into a low growl and he leaned down to look at Miran. The boys red eyes were hard, he was angry as well, but the plea in them was bigger than his anger. Orobas felt the left corner of his mouth twitching upwards into a half grin.

" _So why should I, little one?"_

"We don't kill if it is not necessary. An addition to Lenka's three rules."

Orobas grin grew wider. He really liked the boy. A good child. This one belonged to him.

" _So you have chosen your fate instead of letting someone else choose? Remember, oaths once given shall never be broken."_

Miran nodded slowly.

"That's why I won't surrender to anyone."

Ah. He really wanted to make him household vessel. Wait a sec. He _could_ make him his very own household member. There was no one else beside him out here, right?

He gathered his own Rukh into a small bird, poured all his feeling for Lena into it, the trust, the adoration, the protectiveness, the over-protectiveness, the hopes he had, the fear of loosing her to the dark side, the affection and held the glowing bird out to the boy.

" _Then take this, you who seeks power to serve the king."_

"Wait, Miran."

Orobas scowled at the man that emerged from the crowd, frowning at him and his soon to be household member. Oh, Muu Alexius. He didn't like him, even though he wasn't loathing him like he loathed the perverted stupid king or the perverted girly Magi brat, but he. Had. Been. With. Lenka. Indecently.

" _Don't interfere,"_ he snarled, putting every ounce of his anger and antipathy into the two words and the accompanying glare. Muu jumped back two meters and the crowd scattered screaming. Some of them were even running into the walls in their fear. Miran whistled approvingly.

"Now I see what a real glare can do. Impressive."

" _I could teach you a few more things,"_ he offered then flinched as a nagging pain started in his guts.

" _I don't have much longer. Will you accept this?"_

Miran nodded and took the bird carefully into his hands. The Rukh fluttered its wings then disappeared into the brass knuckles the boy was wearing. Orobas smiled, carefully patted his head and decided to use his last precious seconds outside to give Muu Alexius a bit more of advice.

" _If you want to capture her heart you have to convince us first."_

The man smiled at him, serious determination in his eyes.

"I will do my best."

Che. As if he would ever, ever in hell accept a dork like him. Never ever. Never.

…

Barbatos had been fun to hang out with.

* * *

 _Orobas you bastard,_ I _wanted to make him household vess_ el, Gusion growled and shook her flipper at the screen. Lenka on the other side felt like her face was cramping from her joyful grin. Now Miran would really stay at her side.

 _He should come back, he's straining your body too much,_ Orias said with a frown and checked a scroll. In the same moment the human felt a suction like from a giant drain and nodded.

"I think you have your answer. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to talk with you like this."

 _Aww,_ Eligos cooed and place another kiss on her cheek.

 _See you, Lenky._

"Hey, I'm not gone, I'm just not really here again."

She frowned.

"Now that sounded strange."

And then she felt Orobas' presence close by, touching hers and wrapping around her conscience like a hug before she fell back into her body.

Pain. Oh Solomon. The last time she felt something similar was when he had punished her for not protecting Judar. Her nose, eyes and ears were bleeding, her muscles ached, she felt cold and shaky and when she bent forward and coughed more blood spluttered into her hand. Her shirt was ruined now for sure.

Miran's voice sounded dull but she was able to feel his hands on her arm and blinked through the pinkish veil at him.

"Hey small one."

"You could have died!" he cried and the grip on her arm tightened.

"You could have died and the I would have been all alone again! Stupid Lenka!"

Despite the pain and scolding she started to smile.

"I'm sorry. I try not to do things like this again."

"I really hope you do," another voice said and Lenka flinched in pain when Muu Alexius carefully picked her from the ground.

"Oh, hey. Didn't notice you through the rosy shades I'm wearing."

"The stone must have hit you really hard when you can joke in a situation like this," he grumbled but his Rukh told her that he was relieved.

"I hope this doesn't become a habit of yours, being carried around by me after being injured or... falling ill."

"Yeah, I hope so as well, it's a bit too standard character-ish for me," agreed Lenka and winched when he carried her over the threshold.

"Good thing we aren't in England. It's custom for a man to carry his wife over the door sill when they enter their home the first time after being married."

And why was she telling him that now? Blood loss. Blame it on the blood loss.

"You have lost to much blood," he said after a few seconds and placed her on a kitchen chair.

"I know. Thanks."

Miran handed him a bowl with water and a towel then sat down next to Lenka to watch the man with indifferent expression. Muu raised a brow in surprise then shook his head as the boy mimicked his actions. Lenka frowned at their silent debate.

"What are the two of you doing? Hey?"

"Nothing," the answer came in unison and the other dungeon capturer started to wipe the blood from her cheek. Her frown deepened.

"I can do this alone."

"Just let him do, Lenka," Miran piped in and leaned against her shoulder, not taking his eyes off Muu as he moistened the towel again. The adults were both frowning now.

"Little devil, just what is your plan?" she asked slowly. The boy shrugged and jumped from his chair to make his way to the staircase.

"I don't know, why just not ask him?"

Then he was gone and Lenka felt an eerie familiar feeling of déjà vu.

"I remember him doing this before."

"I do as well," Muu agreed and rubbed her neck clean. He frowned when he saw the multitude of bruises and their rainbow-like colors.

"Sorry for that."

"What?" she asked confused then a pink hue covered her cheeks.

"Oh. That. Yeah. Well. Uhm, apology accepted?"

"I should have controlled myself. It's my fault," he said and slumped down to the floor to look up at her.

"Will you ever forgive me?"

"That is my line to ask. Will you ever forgive me?"

The smile returned to his face before he gently dabbed the towel on her cheeks again.

"I do. Thank you."

"I'm sorry that I can't be who you want me to be right now," Lenka blurted out and lowered her eyes for a moment.

"I have past issues, as you already know, but they are slowly getting better. I can do more than I ever thought I would be able to do. So... please understand that I'm not ready for a longer lasting relationship yet. Can you wait a bit longer for my answer?"

Muu placed the towel on the table then leaned forward to press a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"I think I can manage."

And a warm fuzzy fluttering feeling started in the pit of her stomach as if she had eaten several caterpillars that were turning into butterflies now to roam around in her belly as she smiled back at him.

 _Lenka, that was the most disturbing description of how you can feel when you are falling in love I've heard up until now,_ Gusion said with a shake of her head.

* * *

 **After the madness in the last chapter ejjanesoco ordered a fluffy omake. Enjoy!**

Making Breakfast

He was actually humming. Muu Alexius was surprised that he enjoyed waking up early and walking through Remano in the morning hours when most of the citizens were still asleep, just to visit a recruit's house. But this was not just a simple recruit.

Lenka opened the door before he could even knock. Her nose and cheeks were speckled with flour and the wide smile she gave him made amends for the early hour.

"Heyy, good morning. I tried to make pancakes for breakfast, but somehow I messed up."

He grinned back and followed her inside into the kitchen which looked like a minor explosion had happened around the sink. He knew Lenka was not in the least stellar at cooking but this seemed to be a new low point in the history of her attempts to make breakfast.

"Is Miran not awake yet?"

Normally he would think that letting a nine year old boy take care of food and cooking would be a bad idea but Miran was surprisingly mature for his age and very promising when it came to fighting, too. She shrugged and stared at the bowl in which her dough bubbled like a small swamp.

"I thought it would be a good idea to mark my position as an adult once in a while. And sadly that involves making pancakes."

"Why don't you try something easier like porridge?"

Oh, he had said 'easier'. Not good. Never criticize the cook or the one attempting to do so. Luckily she was still busy examining the contend of the bowl and he was spared from the glare he would have received else. They were really impressive.

"He hates porridge. I don't know why, I like it. Maybe it's too salty or over-cooked."

He was not sure if he liked the expression in her eyes when she looked at him, the glint that told him that she had a plan and that it would be really crazy.

"Can you cook, Muu?"

"Sadly no."

"A pity. I wonder what I messed up. I had flour, eggs, milk, sugar and stirred. Maybe I shouldn't have listened to Eligos when she told me that the jam had to be put inside already. And the honey. Oh well, I can try again."

Muu was sure that it had been a bad idea to ask a djinn how to cook from the start but it was not like he could do the same. Barbatos was not as chatty and spirited as hers or he was simply too lazy to talk.

She dumped the mass in the fire of the oven then cleaned the bowl while he sat down on a chair at the table to watch her playing with the soap bubbles. Lenka sighed and rolled her shoulders then let her head loll back for a few seconds so that the trim ends of her hair brushed her lower back. Somehow this action was extremely fascinating to him.

"Trained too much yesterday?"

"Worse. Back pains. And my shoulders are stiff as well," she answered and rolled them again before reaching for an egg and broke it into the pan. A second and third followed quickly and sizzled on the hot metal.

"Change of plans. Eggs sunny-side and toast. That's something even I can't mess up."

"That doesn't mean you won't try."

Her laugh was contagious and he joined almost immediately. Lenka raised the spatula and scolding waved it at him, but her eyes sparkled with mirth.

"Exactly that is why you are staying, aren't you? Could you please cut some bread slices?"

Muu chuckled and stood up to fulfill her wish. Sometimes she would ask him to help and he would do, even though he ad absolutely no idea why. There was this peaceful sensation of working with her that was downright different from their spars but there was an underlying tension. Sometimes she would notice it was well, for example when he handed her a plate or a knife or something else and their fingers were touching a bit longer than necessary her eyes would become unreadable before she smiled and thanked him. He was not an idiot but a grown man and had experienced the thing men and women would do in public and private first-hand, but Lenka never made clear if she was interested in him in a way that ran deeper than friendship and sparring partners.

So it was up to him to see how far she would let him go.

"Do you want some, too?"

"Why not?"

"How many?"

"Just two."

Lenka hummed and advised him to take care of the platters and cutlery.

"Morning!"

Miran entered the kitchen to hug Lenka and peeked into the pan.

"Oh, eggs. Wait, let me do, I know what happens when you make breakfast."

"Thank you," she said and somehow sounded more relieved than displeased that he had subliminal told her that he couldn't trust her to make something edible. Muu grinned at the boy, nodded and followed her to the table where she had taken place already and rubbed her shoulders.

"Is it really that bad?"

"You have no idea. Try to live with to bags of flour strapped to your chest. No, that's not a good comparison. I wish I was flat-chested sometimes."

He didn't know how to reply to that without offending her; personally he liked her tall and curvy figure and the well-defined muscles of her arms and legs, even though they were not as strong as a fanalis'. The faint scars she had showed that she was a fighter and that was attractive to him as were her gray eyes, her smile, the golden hair and the way she took care of Miran, a mixture of being his sister and mother and best friend, her habit of touching her metal vessels when she was talking to her djinn, the way she laughed when someone had made a joke.

"Is something on my face?"

He noticed that he had been staring at her, nodded and used his thumb to wipe flour from her cheek.

"Now it's gone."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

She smiled and looked into the kitchen but he had already seen the faint pink blush on her face. He continued to grin during the entire morning and only shook his head when Myron asked what had caused his good mood. That was something his sister didn't need to know.

* * *

 **And cut! Whew, finally done with all the angsty stuff. From this point onwards the story will get better again, I promise. Two more chapters and I'm halfway done with the story!**

 **Sorry I didn't answer the users who reviewed, I had work to do and would have spoiled this chapter if I had.**

 **Please, have some leftover Halloween candy, the last children in the neighborhood who live in the house opposite of us were grounded so no one came for the poor snickers and mars bars and gummy bears. Take what you can fit into your bags!**

 **Somehow it's really, really strange for me to receive praise for writing something perverted *hides under that table to blush bright red* but thank you very much.**

 **Halloween is always funny. My friends and I made hamburgers and watched children's films. _Monsters VS Aliens._ You can make funny jokes with my country's version of 'trick or treat', roughishly translated into English it's something among the lines of 'sweets or sour'. We had no sweets for the kids so we tried to give them gherkins, bacon and hamburger meatballs. They were not amused but who wants to mess with university students who look like they wand to eat you for dessert? Exactly, no one.**

 **Now to the guests *hands the sweets bowl around***

 **Guest: Don't let it stop you. Just endure a bit longer and then you get new feed.**

 **Well: Me too, and this is almost as bad. But the next is going to be a lot better, I promise.**

 **Kankri: Better now? *hands you a tissue* I never would have made Miran leave Lenka. I have plans and absolutely can't afford him to stay behind.**

 **Eden: Well, after this chapter she will be, more or less.**

 **Nemeria: If you die while reading my story you will come back as vengeful spirit to haunt me for sure ;D**

 **I feel the same, she is not as extreme and rash as in the first chapters, but she's in the Magi world for more than a year now, many things happened that smoothed her edges a bit.**

 **No, Gusion really had no other choice. She tried her best but I guess it's extremely difficult to change a deadly poison in an active metabolism into something harmless when the cells have begun to fight back and deteriorate already. And the side effects of Lenka experiencing an almost intoxicated-like state were not planned by her, too. Alcohol causes the filter between Lenka's brain and her mouth to disappear completely, she was not really aware of what she was saying at that moment.**

 **I would never send and OC into the world of _Game of Thrones._ Too many cruel things would happen to them. Ramsay Bolton *shudders* Here, I'll hand out a list for the ones wanting to kill Lenka's father. Please note down your choice of weapon as well.**

 **Hooray for accidental shopping! I collect pretty pencils.**

 **The USB stick: somewhere. The internet knows many things.**

 **The wedding: Just wait, I have a plan and this plan involves many interesting plot twists. Everything will be alright.**

 **For the ones who want to ask about Inara: I heard they have nice prison cells in Remano. With moldy straw, dirty water and magic unbreakable handcuffs. And very hard punishment for attempted murder of a dungeon capturer. Let your imagination run wild with a jagged axe...**

 **For the ones who want to ask about Sinbad's letter: he wrote it in the hours after he had killed Ithnaan's clone and saw the repair bill for the damaged palace. I call it his idiot moments. Surely he was a bit sorry afterwards...**

 **Thanks to everyone who read, favorited and followed! Soon the story will hit 100 followers! Candy shower! *throws the content of the sweets bowl***

 **And onward to more writing!**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes because I do the correcting stuff on my own and English is not my native language.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 24: Meeting Foras

Lenka rubbed her temples and sighed. A lingering headache pained her since she had been possessed by Orobas, and the occasional pinches weren't exactly the best things to lighten her mood. And she needed a calm mind now, especially when she was traveling with not exactly the company she had wished for.

The nose-man was a git. Miran, Myron, Lolo and her djinn agreed with her on that in the first five minutes before the travel began while they were waiting for him to mount his horse. He was complaining that they would have to walk two day because of commoner's incompetence to buy a palanquin as traveling by horse was bad for the skin. Lolo had almost punched another hole in the man's face when he tried to advise him about the importance of dental hygiene and how unfashionable beards were this season.

The fanalis and Lenka would have reached the dungeon in mere hours, even without taking advantage of the blonde's flying device but they agreed on not using the cloth as they would have to share it with the nose-man. Muu's household vessel users were of course accompanying them for the dungeon conquering and they went nearly insane from hearing Publius Claudius Naso's constant rambling and annoyed to the point where they would try to maim each other at sight, much to Muu's uncomfortableness and the man's conviction that the Alexius' house was surely a place full of barbaric slaves.

In the end Lenka took Lolo on the flying cloth with her and Miran to prevent certain death for now while plotting how they could use the dungeon to do the job for them and to keep Muu's injuries at a minimum as he would always try to interfere. Of course this was not the best way to solve the problem because Naso was bullying him and Myron now but as Lolo eloquently stated:

"Better 'em than us. Hand me the wine, lad, I can hear his annoyin' brawling even up here. Even Myron's drunken singing sounds better than that."

"What did you say, Lolo?!"

"You should hear Lenka singing then. Now that's torture."

"Hey, what was that just now, you little devil? This screams for porridge for breakfast, you know?"

 _But he's right. You really can't sing._

"Gusion! Don't betray me!"

"Guys, behave, we _like_ each other, you hear! _Like!_ Myron, don't use your gauntlet!"

"Ah, really, these commoners and slaves don't know how to keep their acts together. If I was the head of the Alexius family..."

 _Luckily he isn't. Can I grill him? I'm sure I would be doing us all a favor, right, dearest?_

 _No!_

Conversations like these continued until the evening when the siblings came over to their side of the campfire to announce that they had convinced the other noble that they would behave for the time of their travel. Lenka had started to laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole thing, Miran raised both brows and imitated Alibaba's disbelieving stare and Lolo told them as much as he was indebted to Muu, this was absolutely impossible, even if he would have a whole battalion to massacre on his own and then a feast to celebrate his victory with the finest food and wine, his weight in gold, a life-long provision with alcohol, a statue on the forum and everything else he wished for on this world.

The travelers were very impressed after this statement.

To their utter relief they reached the dungeon the next midday, a tall building like an Aztec temple from her world, authentic with the plants growing on it and the long broken staircase to the top, yet it was really strange for it to be in the middle of a lavender field, corn flowers and cypress trees. Scheherazade seemed to have a weird sense of humor as well.

"So, do we have a plan?" Lenka asked her companions. The portal to the dungeon in front of them shone white and chirping Rukh fluttered lazily around the stones and the weed growing from the cracks. Naso snorted.

"The plan is to conquer the dungeon."

Muu on the other hand smiled at her and nodded.  
"As you are the one who has most experience with dungeons, what would you recommend?"

"Time flows differently in dungeons, as you know. When we have passe the gate we will get transferred into the maze, so when you arrive do not move away from the starting point," she said then looked at everyone.

"The first one to pass the gate may not be the first one to arrive inside. The environment is freely set by the djinn and so no two dungeons are the same. We could get into a pit filled with blood-thirsty leeches or be confronted with our worst fears, or both at the same time."

"The djinn will test our value and determination and our worth as candidates," Muu added with another nod.

"Lolo, Miran and I are no candidates because we have become household vessels," said Myron and wrapped a strand of her hair around her finger.

"So you three are the only ones suitable."

"The djinn will choose either Lenka or Naso, as I have not enough _magoi_."

"And so it will be just me, as you have a djinn already," Naso said with a smug expression. Lenka hummed and shrugged.

"That was no criteria for Gusion, Orias or Eligos."

"Eligos chose Lenka over me," Miran piped in, causing Naso to stare awkwardly at the boy who was more than twenty years younger but had survived a dungeon already.

"Plan b is what?"

"If forcefully separated, make it to the treasury."

"Plan c and d?" the blonde asked with a grin, looked around again and sighed.

"C, if chaos ensues, such as an enemy attack, try to control yourself and get into cover. Plan d, if one of us falls into depravity..."

"Better hope it won't happen. So then, are we prepared enough?"

"I'm ready, brother," confirmed Myron, Lolo grunted and let his neck crack, Miran took Lenka's hand who checked her metal vessels one last time before she smiled at Muu.

"See you on the other side."

And then she entered the dungeon. The familiar swirl of colors engulfed her until she found herself floating in the red pillar hat connected the world and Alma Toran. Lenka felt a wave of excitement rush through her – and Miran's small fingers slipping away. The startled cry never passed her lips because the same moment she was pulled towards the dungeon.

* * *

Her feet hit the floor and Lenka stumbled a bit to keep her balance then looked around.

"Miran!"

She was in a small round chamber, the familiar eight-pointed star was carved in the tiles and a closed wooden door led into the next room.

 _Orobas, can you sense him?_

 _Faintly, he seems to be here, too, but I can't say anything concrete._

"Okay, then we'll go with plan b," Lenka murmured and pushed the door handle. The room she entered now was big, grass and beautiful flowers grew in tastefully arrangements, large boulders were scattered around and the walls were blue and speckled with white doors. The air smelled sweet like cotton candy and honeysuckle.

"Fudge."

She pulled at the handle of the door that led to the prep room and managed to snap it off just before the doorway rose from the ground and mingled with the others high up while a new one appeared in front of her. Now she was efficiently trapped. Biting on the inside of her cheek she turned to the vastness again and spotted a glint of red and gold in the distance then raced towards it.

Myron was standing on a boulder but quickly jumped down when she saw her.

"Myron! Glad to have found you."

"Dear brother, why did take you so long?"

Lenka stopped in mid-step and looked around in confusion.

"Muu? Where?"

Myron tilted her head, her gaze turning stern then raised her fists.

"So you're not my brother then. Perish."

Lenka evaded the blow to her face by dropping to the floor and rolling behind a boulder which cracked into small pieces at the impact of a kick.

"Myron, it's me, Lenka! Use your nose!"

 _Orias, is she seeing an illusion?_

 _Probably, induced by the smell of the flowers._

"Okay, don't use your nose, Orias says the smell causes hallucinations!"

"Nonsense!" the woman snarled and the floor rippled under her feet, grass, decapitated flowers and pebbles flew into the air. Lenka scowled, sneezed and dodged like crazy as the next attacks came faster than one could scream a particular curseword.

"Ask me a question, something only Lenka could know!"

Myron landed gracefully atop of another rock and stared down on the traveler before she held her nose. At least she accepted suggestions.

"What were the reasons for you to leave Sindria?"

"Judar dragged me into a dungeon after proclaiming war with Kou and Sinbad was being just a giant dickhead!"

"You talked with my mother about?"

"Your brother because I'm absolutely confused of him right now! Where is he, by the way?"

The other closed an eye and squinted the other.

"Ah, now I can see you, albeit a bit blurred. It's really the smell that makes me hallucinate. Why aren't you affected?"

"Orias is doing his best to keep my vision normal. There is a flicker around your waist, probably the illusion's doing."

"I understand," she answered nasally and climbed down to the blonde.

"Now that we have found each other, should we look out for the others?"

Lenka nodded.

"Let's jump on a few rocks. Should I carry you so that you won't breathe in the stuff again?"

"I'm fine."

To prove her statement Myron jumped back onto the rock then gestured her to follow. Hopping from boulder to boulder they proceeded further into the dungeon, always on guard of unnatural things. The Rukh were pulsating like the heartbeat of a living being, or rather the bass of a foreign tune that made the traveler jump with the rhythm after listening for a few minutes then humming. The fanalis raised a brow.

"Your singing is as terrible as Miran said."

"I can't hear your criticism, My, I'm dancing."

"I can see that, even with only one eye and the other almost shut," Myron murmured and looked around, searching for another member of their party.

"What is the use of all these doors?"

"One of them will take us on the right path, the others to painful death," Lenka answered cheerily then stopped and tilted her head.

"Do you hear someone screaming? I do."

"I don't."

She seemed to be alarmed that she as fanalis didn't hear what a normal person could hear, but then Lenka was not really the definition of a normal person to begin with.

 _Orobas, can you feel Miran?_

The djinn shook his head.

 _I believe he's walking further into the dungeon. Does Myron know which one it is? We know the other djinn after all._

The Alexius shook her head as Lenka asked her.

"Maybe my brother knows the name of the dungeon, but we have to find him first."

"Oh great. Let's take a quick break, okay? To plan our next steps."

Myron nodded then changed the eye she was searching with.

"Look, there is someone," she said after a few seconds and pointed on a figure in the distance. The blonde frowned then reached a water bottle to the other.

"Shall I fire a signal?"

"Better not, I can't make out who it is, or what," answered the fanalis and handed the bottle back which disappeared in a small black hole. They decided to move a bit closer to the target, using the boulders as cover. The frown on Lenka's face deepened with every rock they proceed and she gripped the hilt of her sword tighter. Somehow this situation made her uncomfortable to an extend where she would rather activate her djinn equip than to sneak around. She glanced at Myron who stopped a few seconds later and started to smile.

"It's brother!" she said and Lenka noticed that she wasn't holding her nose and was thus breathing the hallucinogenic again! Quickly she turned back to the person they were approaching and froze.

Something grotesque, a creature that reminded her of a leech walking with several pairs of spider legs, mandibles and feelers, on which almost fist-sized snail eyes were located. It gleamed oily and mucus was dripping to the ground, leaving a trail of slime after it, a low coo came from the mouth that was filled with small teeth like glass shards.

And Myron was running straight towards the monster.

" _Diamond spears!"_ Lenka yelled and the leech was pierced with several crystalline missiles, causing it to shriek in agony before it cramped together and it's back burst open. Guts and other unmentionable substances splattered the grass and to her utter horror several white larvae landed between the flowers as well and wriggled their way towards the humans.

"Orobas!"

A burst of flames shot up around the carcass, the grub shrieked as the fire devoured them, a piercing sound that made her stomach rise.

Myron suddenly sneezed, blinked, rubbed her eyes as if she was waking from a dream and yelped at the sight in front of her then turned to Lenka who was busy vomiting against a boulder.

"What in Solomon's holy name was that?"

The blonde shook her head and pulled the water bottle out of the black hole to rinse her mouth.

"Dungeon beast," she said after spitting on the floor. Myron grimaced at the burning cadaver.

"And I was thinking it was my brother? Just what place is this dungeon?"

"As you said, a dungeon."

"I hope this blaze won't lure more of them, but I doubt that."

"How comes that you are back to normal?" Lenka asked and drew her sword if there were more monsters to appear. Myron sneezed again.

"The stench of the burning carcass is filling my nose and thus makes me unable to smell the hallucinogenic."

Lenka made a sound of agree then squinted her eyes as something moved to her left.

"Oh fudge, it's the Nose-man."

"Really? What a pity. I hoped he was the one you had heard screaming."

"I did, too," she agreed and watched the man getting closer.

"Camilla! Dearest Camilla, star of my sleepless nights, sun that shines during the day, what are you doing in a place like this unhomely dungeon!" he cried and walked towards a Myron that looked like she was ready to rip his head off if he really was going to hug her or kiss the back of her hand or simply continue to talk like this than sneezed and rubbed his eyes.

"Oh, it's you. Just what is smelling this bad?"

"The creature Lenka killed," the fanalis answered with a face of disgust. Naso was apparently thinking her revulsion was directed to the leech or Lenka, but not at him, and thus nodded wisely.

"Commoners have rough ways of deposing of small matters."

 _That's true, I want to roughly dispose of you, too,_ Orobas mused.

 _Though I'm not a commoner. Lenka, are you a commoner?_

 _No. You know I'm not a commoner._

Loud she said:

"Let's stay alerted, there might be more of the leechiders around. The monsters. Leech-spiders," as the others continued to stare at her in bewilderment. Lenka sighed and rubbed her temples.

 _Orobas?_

 _Miran's getting closer._

 _Good._

Time crept by slowly. At some point Myron started to stretch her arms, then he legs then combed her hair with her fingers in boredom. Naso did similar things, he searched his clothes for dirt stains and rips. To his utter horror he found some. Lenka started to count the doors that passed her vision like white rectangle clouds until she lost track of it then pulled her hair up into a pony tail. The fire still hadn't died down and the white and blue flickering chased the shadows away, the smell of burning chitin and the dungeon grass was sickening sweet and yet bitter and heavy, like burned sugar and horseradish, but it prevented the others from having hallucinations. She didn't really want to get hugged by Naso.

A familiar patter and a screeching sound caused them to jump up as Miran raced towards them, wide-eyed and pale like a ghost, followed by pure horror: three leech monsters and a mixture of a sea urchin and a cricket, in the worst possible way, plus tentacles. When he spotted the three by the fire he stopped, apparently he was under the influence of the hallucinogenic but had realized that there was something wrong with the air and that everything he was seeing might be an illusion. He inhaled deeply then screamed:

"Orobas told me what it means to be perverted!"

"I'll spank that djinn so hard he won't be sitting for the next year!" Lenka yelled and raced past him to attack the cricket with her unbreakable sword. She hacked the monstrosity's legs off and forced the blade through the chitin plates covering the stomach, careful not to impale herself on the spikes dripping with poison, turned it around then disemboweled it, causing yellowish blood and guts to spill over the floor. But this was still not enough, the beast shot some of the thorns at her which she blocked with ease then sliced it in halves and ignited it to be triple sure it was dead.

"Corrupting Miran! How dare he!?"

Myron joined the fight with a well-placed kick that crushed one of the leeches, grabbed it by the mandibles and threw it into the other. Their spider legs entangled so they couldn't crawl away in different directions. Her gauntlet started to glow and when she punched forwards a projectile of light shot through the monsters, ripped them apart and crashed into the dungeon wall. The ground shook so that the shreds, larvae and corpses landing bounced up again before a wall of fire waltzed over them like an avalanche while the Rukh chirped and fluttered around in a frenzy.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Myron! That was totally awesome!" Lenka cheered and high-fived the other. Miran grinned wide and raced over to hug both of them.

"I knew it would work with the right Lenka. A-choo! Solomon, what are those? Eww..."

Someone landed with a loud thump on a boulder to tower over them.

"What the hell is this? Not one Myron, but four?" Lolo said with a frown.

It took them quite some time to convince him that there was only one Myron and the others were Lenka, Miran and Naso under an illusion only he could see, but finally he descended to look at the poorly remains of the monsters.

"So I saw Myron. What did you see?" he asked and scratched his beard then turned from a smoldering piece to his companions.

"My brother," Myron answered while Miran rubbed his brass knuckles in his palms.

"Lenka, but after I got out of the starting room I met three of her so I realized that it had to be an illusion so I came up with the questioning."

"Clever," the blonde said and hugged him affectionately.

"Orias tore the illusion apart before it could even affect me, so I don't know. If we move away from the fire to find Muu I could ask him to stop for a minute so I can see what it is."

"Where is Captain by the way?"

"We have yet to encounter him again," said Myron with a sigh and brushed grass from the hem of her dress.

"Try to find a door that will us lead outside or a Toran table with inscriptions and I'll go searching for him, I got the cloth," Lenka suggested. Naso tried to say something against it but she continued, "Your eyes are better than mine, you can spot the odd one easier than my. Ah, by the way, the one with the missing handle was the one where I came from."

She waved then jumped on the flying device to hover over the surface. The dungeon room was really big, maybe the size of Remano or even bigger so she closed her eyes to rely on the Rukh sight. Finding someone with their help was always a bit tricky; Magi were easy as the glowing birds were rushing towards them, like lighthouses. People with much _magoi_ like Sinbad and magicians were easy, too, as their radiance was strong as well. Normal people with less _magoi_ and fanalis were a bit tricky, she had to listen closely to the chirping, reach out to touch the birds once in a while until she found the right ones.

The Rukh led her to the walls on a site with particularly many boulders where Muu was standing in the middle of pink and white flowers, sword drawn at the monsters in front of him. He wasn't attacking, simply staring at them, confused and desperate on what to do. Lenka took that decision for him and landed on one of the leeches, forcing her katana through it's back and split the skull in a quick move and jumped from the body to face the next enemy while setting the other on fire with a flick of her wrist.

"Muu, there is a hallucinogenic in the air, don't breathe trough your nose!"

"Lady Scheherazade..." he murmured while staring disbelievingly at the corpse. She growled then finished off a second leech and was about to dispose of the last one when the fanalis rushed past her to make leech kebob. Lenka sighed and pulled a rag out of her bag to clean her blade before sheathing it then walked over to Muu who was still busy stabbing the monster.

"It's dead already, I don't think it needs acupuncture therapy now."

"They took the form of Lady Scheherazade. They must be punished."

"Don't waste your time on things already dead, unless they're zombies, but then I'd recommend crushing their heads and burning them afterwards. And walking skeletons are easier to dispose of, but what if we meet a ghost? Or a lich? Whoa, the worst we could meet would be a ringwraith! A Nazgûl would be more than bad. It would be badass."

He looked up and tilted his head.

"You look like Lady Scheherazade, too but I know she would never talk this much about dead things being 'badass'. So you must be Lenka, even though your voice is the same as Scheherazade's."

"Sniff at the burning body to clean your nose, Muu."

He did and sneezed as they others had before him then blinked at her and smiled.

"Nice to see you again. Where are the others?"

"Waiting for us to come back. You were the last one missing," she said and waved the cloth which had waited in the air down for them to climb on and sit down. Lenka quickly explained what they had found out about the dungeon up until now then added:

"I'm trying to find out what djinn it is. Do you perhaps know the name of the dungeon?"

"Sadly I don't," Muu shook his head then laced his fingers and sighed.

"I can't get rid of the image of me killing Lady Scheherazade."

"You killed a monster hiding under the illusion of Scheherazade," she corrected and patted his shoulder.

"Don't forget that she's back in Remano in her palace, waiting for us to come back."

Muu smiled then leaned over to peck her cheek.

"I know. Thanks, Lenka."

She blinked then started to grin sheepishly, assuming her face had a nice pink tint now.

"So you're up to what? Conquest?"

"I have to convince certain djinn on the way, but yes. Conquest."

"Oh Solomon."

She was relieved that they reached the others the same moment or else... and they had found the right way to the treasury. Sadly Naso still hadn't been eaten.

* * *

Two and a half rooms filled with hungry leech-spiders and urchin-crickets and hairy humming balls with big yellowish teeth, six chasms from which the hungry screams of monsters sounded up to them and a riddle which was so stupid that Lolo and Myron had simply broken down the door to get into the next chamber later Lenka was still hoping for that to happen.

"Somehow this dungeon is trying to kill us," she told Muu and beheaded a leech. He nodded cheerily and gutted a monster that looked like a guppy with goat legs.

"Barbatos' was worse. I lost count of how many times I almost died."

"Only Gusion's was actually worth being called dungeon," continued the blonde and turned a fur ball into a pincushion with the djinn's power.

"And maybe Eligos'. Orias was more mentally straining. Orobas forgot to feed his monsters and they died."

"Seriously?"

He disposed of another cricket and the intestines spilled over the floor. As if it wasn't slippery enough with slime already. Lenka nodded and looked around quickly to make sure that Miran hadn't been injured and was still giving a fur ball serious ass-kicking then charged the next monster.

"Maybe you should tie your hair together, it get's rather yucky now with all the guts flying around. You'd look great with a pony tail."

 _Rawr,_ Eligos purred and made a clawing gesture which sent Orias into hiding mode behind the fridge to armor himself with a broomstick.

"How can you hold up a decent conversation in a situation like this?" Naso yelled from the sidelines then hid behind another rock. Somehow the djinn had a soft spot for huge rocks and creepy monsters. The logical consequence would be creepy boulder monsters now. The two dungeon capturers ignored him and continued their killing spree, chatting happily.

"I might try if this continues. How about we go celebrating after the conquest? Anything you want to eat?"

"Fish and chips. I miss fish and chips really bad. Hey, shall we try to see who can drink most? I almost won against Sinbad, but I'm sure he cheated. Bloody stupid king."

"That sounds good to me."

 _Eligos hopes this will involve drunken fumbling._

" _Ah, young love..."_

The last monsters disappeared in a cloud of dust as the djinn of the dungeon started speaking and the party looked around to find a huge wooden door under an arch in which something was carved in. Lenka frowned and waved Miran towards her. The voice was deep for a woman but high for a man, exactly in the neutral middle where she couldn't decide if the djinn was male or female, even when a low chuckle resounded in the room.

" _Only the pure ones will pass through the gate. The others... let's say that I have something for them. You are a funny group. Maybe you will survive. Now, pure ones, walk on."_

"Miran, the djinn means you. I'll catch up later."

He nodded and grabbed the bronze door handle and left. Myron frowned.

"So what are the criteria to be regarded pure? Pure-blood?"

She reached out to follow Miran but the handle disappeared under her fingers. Lenka frowned as well.

"I'm not in the least pure, I'll stay with you, My."

"So you have involved yourself in indecent actions, shame over you" Naso cackled and left the room. The four persons left stared at the door in surprise and horror.

"A male virgin he is?" Lenka said slowly and Yoda-esque. Lolo started to laugh while Muu turned to his sister, his eyes widened in horror.

" _Myron?"_

The Alexius blushed then stubbornly crossed her arms and glowered at him.

"So what if I'm not pure? It wasn't that big of a deal either way."

Muu placed his hands on her shoulders, going into full big brother mode.

"Tell me, what is his name? What does he do to earn a living? _Did he at least propose to you?!_ "

Lenka turned to Lolo and started to grin at him as he tried to look innocently but failed as she mouthed 'caught red-handed'.

"Did you _at least_ propose to Lenka?"

Muu and Lenka flinched guiltily but the djinn interrupted them through moving the door further away and creating a huge space between them and the exit. The blonde felt something like a cold touch on her shoulder and gaped at the dice game board appearing on the floor. She gulped and stared at the colorful tiles.

"I fear terrible things will happen in this room."

" _Nah, not really terrible. Please put away your weapons and decide on the first one to throw the dices."_

The dungeon capturers sheathed their swords then looked at the other two.

"I will start," Muu said and a cup with dices and a blue glass plate appeared in front of him.

" _Five. Oh dear,"_ the djinn cackled in joy.

" _You're not allowed to throw the dices in the next round."_

"What kind of game is this?" he murmured while Lolo threw next and proceeded three fields. The djinn made a ka-ching sound and clapped.

" _You have invented a new drug that saves people from getting bald. One fortune cookie for you! You can open them to get a new event if the one you're going into is not to your liking."_

"This is similar to cheating, isn't it?" Myron mused and walked her two.

" _Prettify! This dress will look lovely on you!"_ the djinn hummed and suddenly Myron wore a dark green, sleeveless mermaid-style robe, long gloves and a matching shawl, her hair done in an elegant chignon. She raised her hands then the hem to look at the shoes.

"Why are the heels so high?"

" _Because they are high heels. And blondie takes the lead when trowing a six. And what do we have here?"_

The djinn started chuckling and again Lenka felt the cold sensation of someone standing behind her.

" _Oh, interesting. May I borrow your friend's appearance for the game?"_

She spun around to see a red-haired girl with a ring lip piercing floating in the air, dressed in a tartan skirt, knee socks and a black top. Fake Micaela grinned wide and raised a Magical Girl staff, or to be precise, Sailor Moon's Magical girl staff.

" _Now to your field's event! More clothes-changing!"_

Lenka looked down to find the baggy pants, blouse and vest replaced with black leggins, a pink long-sleeved tunic, brown leather belt and a leather jacket and almost impossibly high ankle boots in purple to complete the outfit.

"Now this is not the worst combination I've been wearing up until now," she said approvingly then turned around to look at Muu and gasped in surprise as the djinn had changed his clothes as well. Jeans. He was wearing _jeans_. The djinn was a freaking genius. Jeans and a white button-down shirt and black leather slippers. The first two buttons were open to show his toned body and the sleeves were rolled up as well. Where was her camera?

"Smartphone! Ahh, no power left, God, why do you have to torture me this much!?" Lenka wailed and shook the device before violently tossing it back into the black hole and turning to the startled man, a familiar gleam in her gray eyes.

"I so want to make out with you now."

"Ew," Myron said with a shudder.

* * *

Miran sighed and looked at the wooden door, playing with the brass knuckles and the thought of breaking it into splinters to get Lenka out.

"I really wonder what they are doing in there."

"I don't want to know," Naso said and scratched his nose.

* * *

" _Kill the pinata!"_

Lolo did happily and munched the candy while watching the others suffer.

" _Hold a speech about the importance of proper dental hygiene!"_

"My teeth are perfect," Myron grinned.

" _Have tea with a bunch of suitors!"_

"I hate this dungeon," Lenka murmured behind her cup.

" _Cook pancakes for your hubby!"_

"Me too," Muu agreed and tried not to burn the illusion of a kitchen.

"I don't even have a hubby and the mental picture of me having one is scarring. Oh, too salty again."

" _Knit a scarf for your beloved!"_

[Scene censored by the djinn of the dungeon due to Lolo's violent curses and the attempt to stab the host with the needles.]

" _Tell the others your biggest mistake in life!"_

"Going with you on this dungeon conquest."

"We understand you."

" _Aw, I love you too. Double event! Girls, dance a waltz!"_

"Tamm damm damm, tamm damm damm..."

"At least Lenka knows what the djinn wants us to do."

" _Answer three embarrassing questions!"_

"Damn."

" _A wild Pikachú appears!"_

"Don't kill Pikachú!" Lenka yelled at Lolo who was staring at the adorable yellow beast in confusion.

" _Spaghetti eating contest!"_

" _Nurse cosplay!"_

" _Couple Event! Guys, braid each others hair!"_

" _Vader is Luke's father!"_

 _Noooo, don't spoiler me,_ Orias wailed.

" _Chippendales!"_

 _Hell, YES_ , Eligos drooled.

… _this is wrong on so many levels it's devastating,_ Gusion murmured and covered her eyes.

 _Who wants join me in therapy?_

" _Serenade your husband to be!"_

" _Couple event! Fanalis girl, give the guy with the wide grin a massage!"_

" _Perverted dresses! Solomon, I hadn't had this much fun in ages!"_

All djinn raised their hands.

* * *

Six utterly embarrassing and disturbing rounds later Myron and Lolo had passed all trials and left the room. Lenka only needed one field to reach the goal but had spent the last fortune cookie already to escape a pole-dancing session and now it was Muu's turn. As soon as he stopped on her

tile the illusion of a hill at night appeared around them, completely with starry sky and occasional cicada chirping. Fake Micaela grinned the grin Lenka feared on Real Micaela's face more than anything else in both worlds. Judar could learn a lot from her.

"This is the last task, I'll let you proceed after this. Ready?"

"I excuse myself for everything I'll be doing to get out of here," Lenka said to Muu.

"You take the words out of my mouth."

" _Hey, it's not that bad. Okay, it is."_

"Fudge."

Fake Micaela cleared her throat.

" _Make out passionately and give the other a hickey in the process. By the way, you won't get out of the space until you're done. Have fun!"_

She disappeared with an evil cackle a plop and left two stunned dungeon capturers on a hill at night under a starry sky with no one but themselves and illusionary cicada.

"Have I told you I absolutely loathe this dungeon?" said Lenka after a few seconds of relatively silence. Muu nodded slowly then ruffled his hair with a sigh.

"I bet dinner that the djinn is watching us."

"That is not a bet I can accept because the answer is definitely yes."

"So... we are going to make out?"

"Unless you want to stay here forever, we do. This falls under the category emergency, and I can live perfectly with snogging in emergencies," Lenka shrugged then wrapped her arms around his neck. Muu smiled and placed his hands on her hips.

"If you want to see it like that..."

"You are actually enjoying this, are you?"

"Hm-hm," he smiled and brushed his lips over hers.

* * *

Miran and Naso had been bored to an extend where they had started to talk normally and came to the conclusion that they didn't like each other and thus had waited on different sides of the room. Myron and Lolo had joined Miran's side and were playing _I spy_ with him, much to the annoyance of Naso as most of their jokes were making fun of him. All four of them jumped up when Lenka and Muu were pushed through the door, the illusion around them fell so that they were wearing their normal clothes again, albeit looking a bit breathless and flushed and with forming bruises on their necks.

"Sorry it took us so long, the game wouldn't stop."

"I miss my first dress," Myron said and cackled at the others' disbelieving stares and stood up.

"Kidding. Let's go! I'm done with this dungeon."

She kicked Lolo's side but the man grabbed her foot and pulled so she fell down again.

"Hey, be nice to each other, we have suffered enough already," Muu said weakly and scooped his sister from the floor and placed her a few meters further down the room. Lenka took Miran's hands and pulled him up into a hug.

"Hey, little devil. Tired?"

"Yep. And bored."

"I think we get to the treasury soon."

"I hope that, or else I will dig my way through the floor," he said with a scowl at the tiles then glared at Muu, freed himself from the hug to poke him in the side.

"I can guess what you did and we are not amused."

Lenka facepalmed in horror.

"Orobas! Miran! Are you for real?"

"Apparently I am," shrugged the boy and skipped down towards the next door.

"Everyone ready?"

Lolo's laugh rumbled like thunder when he followed Miran.

"Show me what you've learned, lad."

He nodded and broke the door out of the wall with a swift kick. Myron clapped sarcastic and rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes, Lolo, teach Miran how to become a brute like you. So not cool."

"I am annoyed, so I kick doors," the answer came with an adorable blink that caused Myron to melt. Lenka giggled and shook her head while Muu smiled in relief.

"Whoa, look at that, boss!" Lolo hollered and pointed into the next chamber then stepped in first. The others followed and stared in disbelief at the sandy floor of the room. Naso was the first one to speak.

"Just what is so impressive? It's sand."

"It's not simply sand," the fanalis said with a wide grin and threw the broken door into the room. The wood landed on the sand then got swallowed by the grains and disappeared.

"It's quicksand."

The dungeon capturers exchanged glances and Lenka was about to pull off her flying cloth when a bubbling giggle filled the hall and Fake Micaela floated through the ceiling, wearing nothing but a sloppily knotted white bath robe.

" _Sorry, little dears, but those tools don't work in here. You have to walk. There is a path through the sand, you simply have to find it. If you miss your step you will get sucked into a chamber in which you'd rather not land, I promise."_

"Don't abuse my best friend's face!" the blonde yelled, causing the djinn to cackle like an evil witch.

" _So I shall wear yours? No, better..."_

The body flickered and morphed and suddenly Lenka was staring at herself. Or rather, the male version of herself. The eyes were the same, but the jawline was stronger and the nose a bit pointier, the shoulders broader and the muscles more sculptured. Her twin would have looked like that.

" _Is this form to your liking? I like it."_

Myron muttered something she couldn't really understand, but Lolo looked at her disbelievingly. Muu reached out and touched Lenka's arm as she had started to shiver.

"Lenka..."

"Stop that," the high voice of Miran piped in. He was glaring at the djinn who cocked his head in confusion and tugged the robe apart to show well-toned abdominal and pectoral muscles.

" _So what's your problem with this gorgeous appearance?"_

"You're stopping our progress. I don't like that."

His glare hardened and the brass knuckles he was wearing started to glow white, the Rukh began to chirp and flutter in excitement. Fake Male Lenka snickered and leaned back in the air, arms crossed behind his head.

" _So what, brat? Can't you see I'm busy mocking your companion?"_

Miran moved fast. One moment he was standing in front of Lenka the next his small fist connected with the djinn's stomach and crushed him into the floor.

"NO ONE MAKES FUN OF LENKA!"

A white and blue explosion sent a shock wave through the chamber, so blinding that she had to shield her eyes, and even then it was still too bright. When she finally opened them again the sand had turned into glass and Miran was balancing on the djinn's belly. His hands were covered in white flames, forming the long claws of a beast with their flickering light.

" _Household Vessel: White Paws,"_ he snarled and grinned devilishly then yelped as the opponent disappeared with a _poof!_

 _STRIKE!_ Orobas cheered, blinked and ran away screaming when the other djinn glared at him murderously. Eligos instantly followed, swinging a metal baseball bat - just where did she get this stuff? - and yelling insults at him for stealing cutie Miran away from her. Lenka on the other hand jumped onto the glass floor and skidded over to the boy to hug him tightly and examine his hands.

"Fantastic! Whoa! Those are cool! Owch."

"Let me take a look, too," Myron demanded and pranced to them.

"Looks good to me, but you should stop now before you pass out."

He nodded, concentrated and the flames died down slowly. Miran grinned and raised his hands to examine the brass knuckles that had appeared again.

"Awesome."

"See what's even more awesome!" Lolo exclaimed and opened the next door.

"An empty city!"

* * *

After wandering through the Necropolis for almost thirty minutes or so Lenka guessed the six finally they entered the treasury and started searching for the djinn container. Naso was disappointed that the room only contained pottery instead of gold and jewels and continued to nag until Muu found a lance with the star symbol and touched it. The nose-ter promptly hid behind Lolo's broad frame when the djinn appeared in a blinding flash, and filled the room with smoke before it formed a woman that looked like her skin had once been the smooth bark of a tree. Flowers were woven in her liana hair that was tugged back behind her ears from which very big and sparkly earrings hung. The nose was flat, almost like Voldemort's from the _Harry Potter_ movies thought the traveler with a smile, but her Bambi eyes and full lips made up for that lack. And as many other djinn this one followed the principle of 'clothes? Pff, who needs clothes, bitch' and wore only a skirt, several piercings, necklaces and the floaty stole almost every djinn had.

 _It's Foras!_ Orobas cheered and wiped drool away. Eligos cheered as well, Gusion started to grin – really frightening – and Orias hugged a pillow for defense.

 _Foras is similar to you, Lenka, in the way that she likes to taunt people,_ he said then disappeared behind the sofa.

"Welcome, you who have conquered the dungeon. I am Foras, the thirty-first djinn of Solomon, spirit of lost treasure and discoveries. From the six of you...," she pouted at Miran, Lolo and Myron, "three are household vessels. What a shame."

Foras tilted her head, the liana rustled slightly, and looked closer at Muu then smiled playfully.

"You are the contractor of that hunk Barbatos already."

He nodded, not taking his eyes off the spirit.

"I am."

"A pity you don't have more _magoi_. I quite like him. Has got nice abs and personality and a really cute grin. And a faible for playing tag. The next..." she pointed on Naso who straightened himself under her gaze then stepped forward.

 _What a dimwit,_ Orias sighed and Eligos nodded in agree.

 _Fory will so not choose him._

And really, Foras' excited smile fell and she stared at him with an awkward expression.

"... is a clear no-go. What's up with you people, didn't you find a hottie with enough _magoi_ to come with you on the conquest? This is an insult to me! I deserve some eye-candy after being locked up for so long for Solomon's sake!"

"I am what?" 'this' roared indignantly while Lolo and Miran started to snicker and Muu covered his amusement with a cough. Even Myron looked to the side to hide her grin. Foras looked like she had seen one of her leech monsters suddenly starting to fart pink glitter and wear a tutu, a mixture of disgust and amusement.

"I said you're a clear no-go. You're greedy, dimwitted, scrawny and egocentric, a clear no-go."

… _ha ha,_ said Gusion and Lenka had to bite on the inside of her cheek to choke her laughter, especially when Foras continued her explanation.

"I can make men witty, but only to a certain extend, and manipulate the cells of beings, but someone like you would need three of me to achieve something. This makes me remember one of my former queens, a very vain person, to be honest. She wanted eternal life and beauty and tried to use my power to achieve this. You all can guess what happened, right?"

"Her _magoi_ ran out," Muu said with another nod. The djinn fluttered her lashes at him and cupped her cheek with one hand while the other held the elbow, a pose that caused her ample breasts to get squished together. Eligos whacked a drooling Orobas on the head.

 _Don't get so worked up over nipple piercings! Small breasts are better than those jugs anyway! Right, Len- oh, I forgot, you are one of them. Where is Leraje when you need her?_

"Exactly, and when she saw the blood running from her nose she used my power to heal the wound that wasn't really there, thus caused her nose to bleed even more, and then her eyes started as well and then her intestines began to melt... and minutes later she realized what she had been doing, but then it was too late for her to call the palace healer and I was rather free again."

"And the morale of the story is what?" Naso asked, causing her to stare at him as if he had said that yes, he liked to wear frilly dresses and orange lipstick and to eat kittens on toast, but only with soda, not with coke or else he had to cough on the fur.

"The morale is that I won't choose you," Foras deadpanned and turned towards Lenka, blinked surprised then grinned wide and leaned down so that she could look at her more closely.

"Now I see some familiar faces! It's the twins! Eligos and Gusion are there, too! Hey, my dears, how've you been in the last centuries?"

"Rather well," Lenka answered for them and tried not to stare too openly at Foras' boobs which were pressed against the floor now as the djinn crossed her arms on the ground, her backside sticking into the air. So that was only a skirt on the front... and a string with metal beads in the back. Kinky.

"I see. Now you don't look that bad either, bombshell. That is some fine ass you got about us chicks teaming up for a funny travel?"

"Excuse me, what did you say? I was busy admiring your pretty face. I don't see many girls this beautiful in those days. They are all missing the certain spark, you know, the one that makes them truly unique?"

Now she knew what Orias had meant. A female pervert. Thanks to her bold answers Foras blushed a bit then blinked at her under lowered lids.

"I like girls with attitude. Even more than male eye-candy. I think the two of us will have much fun in the future."

Then her gaze turned earnest, almost piercing.

"Orobas may have given you back your faith in yourself, Gusion reconciled you with your past, Orias might have made you even more dignified and Eligos helped when achieving favors, but I," she smiled and fierce determination appeared in her green eyes, "I will give you the power to never loose someone again and to discover what it is that you truly desire.

Do we have a deal?"

Lenka nodded and stretched her hand out.

"You bet."

"Wait a second!" Naso interrupted, looking angered and shocked at the djinn who stared back in confusion, as the other persons in the treasury did.

"Just why do you think of choosing her!"

"Bad idea," Muu muttered as a fine wrinkle appeared between Foras' brows.

"I am clearly more qualified! I have connections! Great wealth! A noble lineage that reaches back for centuries! Gifted and knowledgeable! Why would a djinn choose a mere commoner, a simple traveler when there is someone like me available?"

The room was silent for a few seconds then Foras started to laugh, a deep, almost smoky laugh that surely had catched the attention of many guys in her past life.

"Oh Solomon, are you for sure? I would have never guessed that the male ignorance and ego could be as huge."

"You have to meet King Sinbad and Judar the black Magi then. Their egos only rival their desire for power."

Foras giggled then wiped tears from all three eyes, inhaled deeply and shook her head in pity.

"First reason I chose her: as Orobas just told me she has Magi lusting after her. And not just one."

Everyone except Miran choked as he knew thanks to Orobas about Judar and Aladdin, and the ground under Muu's feet cracked. Lenka shivered and rubbed her arms under the sudden chill.

"Damn that chatty djinn. I won't say they lust. They are interested."

"And as Orobas just said she has several royal accomplices. And she has in the hots for one of the red-heads."

"..."

"Kougyoku is a girl!" she said with a glance at Muu who didn't look very happy with the way this talk took. Foras grinned wide and wriggled her brows.

"I was not talking about her, my dear."

"Did you know that Orobas is _very_ happy to see you again?"

 _I'm not!_

 _You're drooling in joy,_ three voices said in unison, Foras blushed bright pink and looked to the side.

"Point for you. So, the second reason I choose her: she's clever. Educated. Has manners. Can hold up a decent conversation with me. Unlike you," she said and pointed with a long nail on Naso whose face reddened until he resembled a furious tomato with a paler nose.

"I am-"

"Blah blah blah. Third is, as I already said, boobs and booty."

"Why do I think I'm in a comedy show?" Lenka murmured as Lolo roared with laughter, causing Myron to smack his head, which led to a silent headlock-match until Muu interfered, a slight blush on his face. Miran sighed in agree and patted her arm then snickered at Naso who looked like he had swallowed his tongue.

"I like them as much as I like hot men, but the interaction with the guys is better if you have a female conqueror. So many thing you can do... I must confess that I have slight voyeuristic tendencies."

 _Oh Solomon, am I as much a pervert as her?_

 _Eligos is and Orobas is as well and Orias is a closet pervert too. Don't worry, we can all be friends._

 _Eyyy!_

 _I'm not a closet pervert! I'm not perverted at all! He is the one with a stack of perverted pictures! And she has even worse!_

…

… _no, I don't want to know how you got them._

"Yeah, well, before I drift into reminiscence of my past peeping adventures I give you a few more reason: she is noble as well, has better connections, more _magoi_ and is rich beyond comparison. And her aptitude is not even a matter for discussion, as she could charm Gusion, a djinn even his Highness Solomon had his problems with."

Gusion raised her flippers as if she had won a prize then bowed for a clapping Eligos.

… _thanks, my fans._

 _I believe I will be going mad someday because of you guys._

 _Many great minds were somehow mad, look at Foras._

 _That is very helpful, Gusion._ Not _._

"This babe is clever, caring, helpful, busty, brave, bubbly and furious, qualities I appreciate in my chosen ones. And to boot every other out she has a task given to her by Him himself, a destiny or so to speak.

Go play with your toy soldiers, this is a field where only the best can win."

Foras clapped her hands and beamed at the fanalis and her new contractor.

"So, why don't you go and pack the treasure, hmm? I've spent way too long down here!"

They packed as much treasure as they could carry, which was almost everything collected in the vast hall, then the djinn shrank a few sizes to take a close look at the ring Lenka wore on her right index finger and grinned mischievously at her.

"I take this one. Rings are quite handy, you won't have to put them off when things get a bit more heated."

"Could you try to distract Orobas not that much please? I need his powers to toast people."

Foras grinned dirty and rose up again.

"Are you finally done collecting stuff? No? Well, doesn't matter. Off we go!"

The teleporting circle appeared under their feet, glowing brightly and the dungeon shrank away as the djinn vanished into the red jewel on Lenka's finger. A second later she could hear the happy, terrified and enthusiastic shouting of her djinn when Foras entered the room in the back of her mind and jumped her ex-boyfriend who was very likely to become her toy again in no time. The blonde shook her head with an amused grin then smiled wide at Muu who was sitting down next to her and took her hand.

"Orobas and Orias just figured out that they are a minority now."

* * *

The sun was high up but aside from the giant rectangle hole in the ground there was no sign that the dungeon of Foras had ever existed. And another thing, or rather, being was missing as well. Actally two. Muu felt his stomach churn with anxiety and growing anger as he scanned the pit, the two huge bags of treasure down at the bottom and the landscape for what felt like the fifteenth time in a quarter of the minutes.

"Where the hell are you, Lenka?"

* * *

 ***Bangs head against the desk* Hell yes, finally halfway through the story! And now I have some good and some bad news.**

 **Second Chance will be on hiatus next Sunday, November 15 and continue on 11-22-15.**

 **Life is really busy at the moment and I'll have very little time to write in the upcoming week with important stuff coming up. And 8,000 + word long chapters (12-15 pages) don't write themselves over night...**

 **Now the good news: the story has 100 followers! *squeals in delight and throws sweets***

 **Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so very very much!**

 **I'm working on a Christmas present for you. Some might already know but I can draw. Pretty well. And there will be so much to do for me.**

 **I still accept requests for extras per review or PM. Call me a workaholic but I love this stuff.**

 **And now to the guest reviewers! Get your cookies over there, they are waiting.**

 **Guest who reviewed on Nov 1(did you review twice? Thank you :)): Good choice of torture instrument. You can do great things to the eyes with a spork. Great things. Eligos approves of your choice.**

 **Gadget boy: Thank you very much :D I fear I have become addicted to reviews. They are worse than chocolate, but at least you won't get fat, only depressed when there are no new ones. And don't worry about Sinbad *pats the book with the storyline* I'll get this covered.**

 **Kankri: Of course I have to mention Lenka's friend, she misses her a lot at the moment. And don't worry, they [omitted because of being a major spoiler, please don't hurt me]. Okay?**

 **Nemeria: Please get an account or else the answers I want to write for you or want to write for you will get longer than the chapters :3**

 **Lenka carried her past issues around for a very long time without telling someone as she feared their reactions more than anything else. The break-down was necessary for her to round the thing off, accept her past and to start anew. I'm glad it made her more human in your eyes, I always fear she's becoming a Mary Sue. Those are evil.**

 **Eligos meant the one who poisoned Lenka, Inara, who has serious mental problems and is maybe a tad closer to insanity than Judar. Which is completely lunatic.**

 **Don't worry, Gusion is going to find you. She's being promoted to minor god at the moment.**

 **Miran! Best decision ever. I so want a brother like him and Orobas. Their interaction is priceless.**

 **The twins and Barbatos: Orias was more or less indifferent as he was more a nerd than a battle-freak like his brother. Orobas and Barbatos had more of a manly friendship mixed with competition for the attention of the girls.**

 **Choice of weapon: I'll look it up. This is going to be fun. Maybe I'll play deus ex machina and teleport you there to get a piece of him.**

 **Family moments and wedding: there will be more, even though it doesn't look like that at the moment. And there will be fluff. And now I have to stop or else the spoilers will spoil the fun.**

 **Haunting me: I always wanted a pet ghost to spy for me.**

 **Halloween: I'm not very religious but I like graveyards. The tranquility is very inspiring.**

 **And off we go! See you again on Nov 22! Thanks for your support!**

 **I'm searching for a beta as I'm still not that good with grammar despite studying English, please PM me if you are interested!**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	25. Chapter 25 plus omake

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes because I do the correcting stuff on my own and English is not my native language.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 25: Meeting the Kou dungeon capturers

The sky was blue over the imperial capital, not a single cloud stained the azure when Ren Kouen, first prince of the Empire and commander of the western subjugation army wandered through the royal palace gardens, or rather, walked on the veranda surrounding the gardens, his household followed a few steps behind him, discussing the choice of Ren Koutoku to make Gyokuen empress. For three days now. The only times he was spared from the seemingly endless ranter was when he was alone in his private chambers to sleep or study the Toran scrolls he had collected over the years. Ren Koumei, second prince of the Kou empire yawned sleepily behind his fan, his robes were tied so sloppily they were almost slipping from his shoulders.

"So what are we going to do, my brother and king?"

Kouen slightly narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to answer when a white flash distracted him. The men hurried over to the railing of the veranda and stared at the sky where a huge eight-pointed star appeared high over the gardens.

"A dungeon portal!" Koumei exclaimed in shock and Kouen scowled even more and unsheathed his sword to give the newcomer a warm welcome. Literally.

"Oh, look, Lord Kouen," Seishuu cackled and his snake hair hissed.

"We get to re-model the garden."

"Not again," Koumei groaned.

The floor disappeared in white light and Lenka prepared for the ground that would replace the magic tissue. Looking down she saw a city, tiny and toy-like under her feet. Her last thought was _uh-oh_ , then the re-appearance of gravity caused her to plunge down _fast_ and the city grew rapidly bigger and blurred as the howling wind made her eyes tear up almost instantly. She heard Miran scream in terror and her reason kicked her consciousness out of it's interpretation of Edvard Munch's _The Scream._ The dungeon capturer pressed her arms against her chest, fingers yanking at the scarf while her speed increased, then turned around and let go of the cloth that enlarged like a giant white sail or jumping sheet to catch Miran and the bags of treasure that had been sent with them.

Lenka grinned at his terrified face that appeared over the edge of the item that continued to veer away from her before she realized that she was still falling and tried to turn around again to face that ground which was coming very close very fast now. Or rather, the gardens of a site that looked eerily like a royal residence, completely with lotus koi pond, bonsai alley and gravel ways. Pretty, but not much longer. Impact in 8! 7! 6!

 _Noo, I don't want to get back into a dungeon!_ Foras wailed while Eligos cheered:

 _We are going to smack the palace! How exciting!_

 _Djinn equip!_ bellowed Orias.

"Gusion!" Lenka screamed and the water from the pond rushed upwards, wrapped itself around her like giant tentacles and stopped her fall roughly twenty meters over the magnificent lawn. Her stomach rebelled so the water turned her upside again then slowly lowered her until she stood on the path between two trees then flowed back into the pond, picking up a rather large yellow carp on the way.

"Thanks, Gee," she murmured and brushed her bangs out of her face, fingers and legs shaky like never before. Now that had been a close call... where was she right now? Okay, palace gardens, but whose palace was this?

She turned right when someone yelled her name and almost drowned in a flood of pink robes when a red-haired princess hug-tackled her with the force of an incoming train so that she had to take a few staggering steps before she could stabilize herself.

"K-Kougyoku!"

"Lenka! I saw the circle appear and hoped that it would be you!"

The blonde hugged back and whirled her around, causing Kougyoku to shriek with laughter before they separated to look at each other.

"It feels like ages have passed, and it must have because you have grown in every possible direction!" the princess grinned and took her friend's hands while enviously staring at her assets. Lenka beamed at her and squeezed her fingers.

"You haven't really changed either, dear."

"Hey, I got a lot stronger since the last time we sparred. The next fight is going to be my win for sure!"

The blonde started to laugh and kissed the other on the cheek who blushed slightly.

"Sure thing you would, if I hadn't made a few more friends."

Kougyoku's eyes widened.

"You mean...?"

Lenka pointed upwards to the cloth that had followed her down and catched Miran who jumped down into her arms to hug her tightly.

"Lenka, you stupid, stupid, stupid! Idiot! I told you not to go dying and what do you do!"

She smiled and kissed his head.

"I know I'm reckless, but you're being rude to one of our hosts."

Miran turned to Kougyoku and slightly tilted his head while his protector grinned at the princess.

"Miran, meet Ren Kougyoku, eight princess and dungeon capturer of Kou. Kougyoku, this is Miran, my household member."

He bowed and smiled adorably at the Ren.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, princess. Lenka told me stories about you."

"Aw," Kougyoku cooed and hid her blush behind her sleeves.

"Thank you."

"I like your hair. It's almost as red as mine," he said and tugged on a longer, sunset red strand to prove his point. Lenka grinned and tickled his sides wheres he squealed and tried to tickle back for revenge.

"Miran, if you continue like this you will become an enemy to womankind, an enemy I say. Worse than Sinbad."

The boy blinked innocently at his guardian who sighed and tapped his nose.

"If you say that Orobas told you..."

"He said Foras said that girls like compliments."

"Who else?" murmured the blonde and looked at Kougyoku who had watched the scene with a smile.

"Foras is the djinn who sent me here. I have five now."

"Five!" the princess yelled and lowered her sleeves to flap agitated with them as she hurried over to Lenka to examine every piece of jewelry she had.

"Five, that is two more than brother Kouen has and two less than Sinbad! Incredible!"

"Eligos and Foras. The latter one sent me here from Reim. I knew such a thing was possible, but not that it could cover a distance this huge, from the borders of Sasan to Kou."

"Oh, by the way, Sinbad!" Kougyoku growled and shook her fist and Lenka felt her djinn stir, especially Orobas as he had witnessed what an angry Kougyoku could do back in Balbadd. A loud tapping interfered with the upcoming ranter as a pink-haired individual in interesting clothes and a huge sword strapped to the back raced towards them then stopped as the foreigner made no move except raising her empty hands in a peaceful greeting gesture.

"Kougyoku! I heard you screaming. Is that an enemy?" Ren Kouha asked with a dangerous glint in his pink eyes, fingers closed around the hilt of his metal vessel. The princess shook her head and stepped between them.

"No, this is my friend Lenka who came to visit me."

"You have _friends_!?" Kouha gasped in surprise and giggled as his half-sister scowled at him.

"Yes, I _do_ have friends. Lenka, this rude person is my brother, the third imperial prince Ren Kouha."

Lenka smiled at him and bowed with her hands folded in the traditional Kou-style.

"I'm honoured to meet you, prince Kouha. I'm Lenka, the traveler, neutral ambassador for countries who need my help and advice, currently employed by Scheherazade, the Magi of Reim."

A wide grin split his boyish face.

"The way you speak is funny."

"It's an accent," Lenka scowled.

"London accent, to be particular."

Kougyoku chuckled behind her sleeves.

"How many have asked you that question by now, Lenka?"

"Too many. Almost everyone I've met up until now. It's not even that funny."

Kouha snickered at her deepening frown then spotted Miran who watched him with curious eyes from behind his guardian and frowned, hand wandering back to his sword.

"And who is that?"

The boy opened his mouth to answer when a loud yell interrupted them again and Judar landed on the ground, his long braid trailing behind him. The Magi grinned wide and mischievously at the blonde woman and placed his hands on his hips.

"Now look what the cat dragged in, it's boobies! I knew there was only one of my dungeon capturers to arrive in such a flashy way besides Kouen. And look at the breasts, they have grown even more."

"Hey, peaches," Lenka smiled brightly at him.

"Half a year has passed, right? Since you dragged me into that godforsaken dungeon the left without a single word. And what is the first thing I get to hear when we met again? Sexual harassment! I'm so not proud of you it's incredible."

He started to laugh happily, but to her it sounded a bit closer to madness than when she heard him laughing back in Sindria before he stopped, his eyes widened and he briskly walked up to her to take her hand and examined the ring.

"No way. Not only you have two of the creep's dungeons but two of the old hag's as well!"

Judar pouted at her then pulled at her arm.

"I take you into one of mine now. There is no way in hell that you are a candidate of _them_!"

"I just conquered one, let me eat and sleep and bathe first," Lenka groaned and refused to follow so that he was pulling with his whole power at her arm for a few seconds before almost wrapping himself around her, placing his head on her shoulder to blink and pout at her face.

"But you will go with me, right?"

"Hands off Lenka!" Miran growled and glared hard at the Magi who eyed the boy in confusion.

"And who are you, midget?"

"Miran, Lenka's household member and first executioner of the 'Chase the suitors away from Lenka'-committee," he explained with a proud grin, causing Kougyoku to giggle in her sleeves, Lenka to facepalm with her free right hand, Judar to gape at him in disbelief and Kouha to cackle at the Magi's face.

"You-"

"Judar!"

The five of them flinched as the deep voice of Ren Kouen cut through their conversation like a knife through butter. None had perceived him, Koumei and the four household member of the first prince getting closer as they had been busy with themselves. Lenka's sense for trouble tingled while her inner fangirl aka Eligos looked up from her newest invention, a catapult for cakes and cookies and wriggled her brows.

 _Well, hello there, Mr Goatee. Aren't we sexy today? Yes, of course we are, why wouldn't we be?_

… _My preciousss,_ Gusion added for her friend. Apparently they had found _Lord of the Rings_ now.

"Hey, Kouen," Judar greeted nonchalantly without moving his head from her shoulder.

"And Koumei. Why out of bed this early?"

"We saw a transfer circle and decided to check if it was something dangerous," he answered with a yawn while Kouen stared so intense at Lenka that she had the strong urge to cross her arms over her bosom or chide him for trying to burn a hole in her forehead. Kougyoku instantly grabbed her other free arm and glanced at her brother with a nervous smile.

"Brother Kouen, this is my friend Lenka, she trained with me back in Sindria and helped me in Balbadd-"

"She bought me peaches and conquered a dungeon with me and her-"

"Don't you dare to do or say something indecent in royal company again," growled Lenka and knocked her head against his while Miran scowled at him, much to Kouha's amusement. The Magi let go of her and rubbed his temple with a pout.

"Why getting so violent when mentioning the-"

"Talk about them and I'll ask my newest djinn to mess with your body and turn you into a girl."

Kougyoku loosened her grip as well to hide her grin behind her sleeves again and stepped next to Miran who was taking Judar's gaping surprise as excuse to massage his brows. Staring was rather tiring. The men stared at Lenka in disbelief, irritation and in Kouen's case, with growing interest. She continued to grin at the smaller Magi in front of her who had unconsciously taken one step back before shrugging and grinning as well.

"Even with five djinn I doubt that you can break my shields."

"Five!" Koumei, Kouha and the household members spluttered. A small smirk tugged at Kouen's lips. What an interesting person had dropped from the sky. Though it was a bit annoying that there was someone else who had more metal vessels than him now.

The blonde placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head with a playful smile.

"You know, peaches, this would be the perfect opportunity to take revenge for that time in Balbadd, wouldn't it?"

At this words Kougyoku started to giggle and Miran smirked. His Lenka would never go back on her word. The perverted girly Magi brat would meet his maker today, but was at the moment not really aware of that as he was in the middle of a contest of grinning dirty at each other while striking a seductive pose with Lenka. So much for being adults...

Judar balanced on his toes and leaned forward at the same time.

"I bet you can't change me."

"What do you offer?" Lenka batted her lashes and brushed her hair back.

"The dungeon."

"Didn't you want to take me into one either way?"

He grinned smugly at her.

"Remember the time when we had captured the last?"

She shifted her weight and snapped her fingers.

"I see, so you want a kiss again, do you? Are you sure you can handle it this time, peaches? If I recall correctly you fainted halfway through."

Kougyoku let out a high squeal and blushed bright pink while the men started to smirk. Miran shook his head and murmured:

"I don't know if I have to be amazed or shocked that someone can be dumb enough to dare to anger Lenka."

Judar smiled lazily then looked over his shoulder to Kouen and raised his hands to wriggle suggestively with his fingers.

"Did I tell you that my hands cover more than her djinn equip?"

The Magi disappeared in a flash of light when Lenka activated Foras' power, not entirely sure if the djinn was already this mentally close to her that she could use the unique abilities. But when her _magoi_ wrapped around Judar and seeped into him the thought disappeared instantly.

 _Don't bet against the house, brat,_ Gusion said smugly and collected her debts from Eligos.

"W-What the hell?" Judar asked with now high-pitched voice and stared down at his transformed body in disbelief before grabbing his boobs.

"No way! God that feels strange!"

Kouha had to stab his sword in the ground and lean against it in order to not fall to the floor in his hysterical laughing fit, Kougyoku blushed at the Magi's indecent display of public self-groping, Koumei got a hiccup and Kouen smirked even more when Judar searched his pants for his manly bits.

"What the fucking hell! It's gone! Gone I say!"

"That was the thought behind the whole endeavor," Lenka answered with a smug grin that put Sinbad's to shame. Judar scowled at her then tried to race over to do something to get her to change him into a male again but stopped after two steps to cross his arms before his cleavage.

"This body is weird, all jiggly and heavy and stuff. Gross."

"Try jumping a bit, Judar," Kougyoku suggested behind her sleeves and blinked innocently at the glaring ex-male.

"Funny, really funny, old hag. Wait a sec, are you _taller_ than me?!"

"She is," Kouen confirmed with a nod and shifted his attention from his now female Magi to Lenka who had watched Judar with equal curiosity.

"So what is this revenge for Balbadd you mentioned?"

"Actually I wanted him to experience having a period, but I'll settle with this as he PMS-ing would get us all killed for sure."

She started to smile devilishly while a very un-manly squeak escaped Judar that turned into a yell when the blonde wrapped her arms around the smaller woman.

"Damn, Kouen, I'll kill you for tha-a-hu wait, stop, this is-"

 _Hot damn, now that I call skills,_ Foras whistled, Orias shielded his eyes, Miran did the same, so did Kougyoku while Kouha's and Koumei's threatened to jump from their sockets when the tall foreigner groped their Magi into oblivion. Lenka's smirk grew even wider when Judar slumped against her as a weak boneless heap, eyes rolling back in his skull.

"Fuu-"

"Now that is why you shouldn't challenge me, especially when I have another djinn who can control your nerves and over-stimulate them. Really handy, that Eligos. Thank you, Foras, it's time to get him normal again."

"Hrrllgl," Judar agreed then sighed and patted his flat torso.

"They were annoying. How can you cope with that?"

"Several layers of bandages and getting adjusted over a longer time helps. And you really get to appreciate shoulder massages."

She raised her head to look at the audience with a, she had to admit it, rather frightening grin.

"Anyone else who always wanted to change sex? No?"

"No," Kouen deadpanned without interrupting his staring at pudding-legged Judar in her arms.

"What else can you do?"

"Lenka can melt entire dungeon cities," Miran chimed in with sparkling eyes.

"And sink pirate ships with a snap of her fingers. Her cooking is equally disastrous, too!"

"Miran, the curse of porridge is coming up to you."

"And her threats are in fact promises. Oath once given shall never be broken."

" _She's a really gifted darling,"_ Foras purred and wrapped her arms around her queen, causing Judar to jump away with a surprised yelp and the others to step back or draw their weapons. Lenka sighed and patted the hand, three times larger than hers and smiled apologetic at Kouen.

"That's Foras."

" _I am me, and there is Leraje! How have you been, my precious puppy?"_

Foras left Lenka to touch Kouha's sword with a long nail then gave the emerging djinn a squeeze.

" _Rather well, because my king is not a player like your queen and that insufferable man over there. He is way better,_ way _way better I say."_

" _Well, we convinced her to capture the troupe back together,"_ Orobas said when he emerged from his vessel and scowled down at Judar.

" _So we meet again, pervert."_

"What the heck is wrong with your djinn?"

"I sadly don't know, Judar. That's Orobas," Lenka introduced with a wave of her hand. Kouen nodded, or so it seemed because Foras almost pressed her breasts in his face to reach for the pendant attached to his sword.

" _Sorry, hottie, but I see Phenex, dear!"_

" _... what a pain. Hello, Vinea,"_ Gusion sighed and touched the metal vessel Kougyoku helpfully held up for her.

"That's Gusion over there."

"Amazing," the first prince murmured and stared almost hungry at the blonde.

"Miss Lenka!"

She grinned wide and jumped at the surprised Hakuryuu who entered the gardens, his sister and her blue-haired friend following him with wide eyes. The fourth prince froze then slowly hugged Lenka back who was ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Congrats for getting yourself a djinn, Hakuryuu. But why did you have to adapt my habit of disappearing in the middle of the night?"

He shrugged and smiled weakly at her.

"I don't know I did."

"Stupid," she chided and tugged at a strand of his black hair then turned to Hakuei.

"Is this Hakuei? She looks really like you. Nice to meet you, I'm Lenka. Maybe you've heard of me. Maybe not."

"The honor is mine," answered Hakuei with a slight chuckle then blinked as Foras leaned down to touch her fan.

" _Paimon! How's it going, you sexy beast?"_

"Djinn-reunion," Lenka explained with a snicker and pointed on Orobas who was talking to Kouen's Astaroth and Agares now. Koumei on the other hand had paused in mid-yawn when Orias appeared in front of him.

" _May I?"_

The prince nodded and held out the fan, Orias touched the metal-

" _Argh! Dantalion! It's not what it look like!"_

" _Screw you Orias, I'm still angry!"_

" _But it wasn't me!"_

" _Eligos is very happy right now,"_ the djinn sighed and petted Miran's hair before tackling a very startled Agares to groom his fur, something the lion-like manticore highly appreciated by the way the three eyes fell shut. Lenka smiled at the scene, her head was ridiculously light now. Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around her neck from behind and warm breath tickled her when Judar almost glued himself to her.

"Hey, blondie."

"So you have changed to blondie, peaches?" she asked, grabbed his wrists to keep him in place and glanced at the dark-haired male. Somehow he seemed amused, a fact that worried her a lot. The fallen Magi was unpredictable, being careful around him would be the best. Even if it meant carrying him around like a crazy cape. Magi cape. Can really kick ass if you ask politely and offer peaches. She would be a trend-setter for sure.

" _GET AWAY FROM LENKA! I DON'T APPROVE OF YOU!"_

 _Way to go, Orobas._

The djinn glowered at Judar, Miran standing next to him with a wide, dangerous grin and cracking his knuckles in anticipation. Orobas wrinkled his nose and showed his pearly white fangs.

" _First executioner, this is an urgent order of the president."_

"The fudge it is! Miran, do you want to face the eternal damnation of burned porridge for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack, spiced with too much pepper and pickled gherkins?"

"I'm sorry, Orobas, but I have to decline the order, gherkins are a threat I can't ignore," answered Miran smoothly, taking the smaller evil which was enduring the sight of the Magi hanging from Lenka's neck. Judar grinned wide and stuck his tongue out then seemed to remember something.

"Hey, blondie, did you summon the djinn? I'm sure I didn't."

"Eh?" the dungeon capturers except Kouen asked surprised. He simply raised a brow. Lenka sniffed and brought her fingers up to her nose to stop the sudden trickle of blood.

"Fudge. Apparently I did. Or they did. Guys, play time is over! Say good bye to each other!"

At her call the blue spirits stopped their heated discussion of who had chosen the best king or queen to look down on them. Dantalion was still clutching some of the chains on Orias' choker as she had stopped in mid-shake, Foras had been feeling Paimon up, Eligos was lazing on Agares and played with the braids she had plaited into his fur while arguing that Lenka was clearly the best. Leraje, despite being in the federation of the relatively flat-chested, objected enthusiastically, her Kouha was way better. And then they disappeared, like smoke in the wind and left the surprised Kou dungeon capturers, the households and Lenka back in the gardens.

Kouen blinked twice then walked to the blonde and stared, well, not exactly down at her since she was only one and a half inches or so smaller and had Judar hanging on her back, but through his majestic demeanor he seemed a foot taller at least.

"We have to talk."

She groaned and used her free hand to rub her temples to fight the killer headache that came with over-using her powers.

"Yeah, sure, all you want to know but can I please sleep first? And eat? And bathe? Not necessarily in this order. I just conquered a dungeon, fell nearly to my death and summoned a dozen djinn. I'm spent."

Judar chuckled and nuzzled his face in the side of her neck, causing a shiver to run down her spine when his Rukh touched hers.

"That's it, blondie, show him who's the boss here."

 _Impertinent bastard, get away!_ Orobas howled and Foras raised her cup in agree. Koumei frowned and yawned at the same time, really impressive, she thought.

"Judar, are you perhaps putting her over us? Favoring her?"

"Maybe I do," he grinned then moved a bit away from Lenka to poke a spot on her neck and she flinched at the contact.

"Why is there a bruise?"

 _It's a hickey from a very hot guy,_ Foras corrected with wriggling brows. The traveler frowned and rubbed over the bruise.

"Dungeon trial."

Miran coughed something that eerily sounded like "Alexius!" and responded with an innocent smile to her irritated glare before attaching himself to her other side where he hadn't had to look at Judar directly. And another person stepped forward: Kougyoku shyly glanced at her brother over her sleeves then almost immediately lowered her eyes.

"Brother, it was me who had invited Lenka to come to the palace, albeit I didn't know when and how she would arrive. Therefor she is my guest and I will be taking care of her."

Kouen blinked down at her then nodded.

"Fine. Give her a room and have her meet me tomorrow morning in my study. Judar. Come with me."

"See you soon, blondie," the Magi whispered in her ear then his weight disappeared from Lenka's back when he used his levitation magic to follow the princes. Kouha strolled to the small group left when the blonde turned to Hakuryuu.

"We will find an opportunity to speak as well, I really want to know what happened to you after you left Alibaba, Mor and Aladdin."

He nodded slowly but the blank expression he had worn the whole time cracked a bit at her bright smile. Lenka sighed inwardly. There was still hope for him at this point of the story.

"Hey, Lenka, was it, right? How about a spar tomorrow? I'm bored out of my mind. I don't accept a no," Kouha piped in, a wide grin on his face.

"As long as not today every other day is fine."

"Good, meet me on the training grounds then!"

Somehow she had the feeling that it was perhaps not Kouen who was the biggest threat to her health but his younger half-brother.

* * *

Kougyoku was a great host. The princess had organized a room near to her own for Lenka and Miran, a bath for the two, night kimono and warming vests and invited them over for dinner in her private chambers. The boy frowned at the chopsticks they used in Kou and struggled despite the advice and help the two women gave him until a servant brought a spoon for him so he could scope the small pieces of meat in spicy sauce, the rice and various vegetables though the last were eaten with a frown. The fruit served as dessert were more to his taste and Kougyoku's as well as she had a rather sweet tooth when it came to fruit.

As soon as they were full and Miran had difficulties keeping his eyes open the talk turned towards more urgent and serious topics than her brother's latest conquests.

"My father is dead," she said and blew on her tea. Lenka reached out to give her arm a gentle squeeze.

"My condolence."

"He wasn't a really good father, but somehow... I think I'm relieved that he is gone now. Maybe I can become someone now. Someone who is more important than an easy way to gain more allies through match-making. A general. I always wanted to fight for my country."

"Don't worry, your time to shine will come for sure."

"Thanks, Lenka," Kougyoku smiled and placed her cup on the saucer. The blonde returned the smile back and sighed.

"My father isn't that great either."

 _Understatement of the century,_ Orias sighed and polished the kitchen knives to a sparkling brightness while his twin sharpened his sword until it could cut a falling leaf.

 _Get in line, I get to kill him first._

 _Unfair, Eligos wants a piece as well! And her baseball bat and the potato bazooka and the voodoo doll family and the special sticky gooey glue-y cookies want punishment as well._

… _I received a summon of some people who want to make me the god of their religion and to bestow my divine wrath upon Lenka's father. I received a list with the name of my followers and their torture-instruments of choice. I like those people. Good ideas._

"My mother was great, though. Nice and caring and everything. She fell ill after my sister's birth and died when I was seven. I miss her."

"I can't remember my mother," said the princess with a sad expression.

"She was a prostitute from the lower class and I was taken in soon after Koutoku became emperor. I never heard of her again."

"I loved my mom."

Miran's voice was slightly slurred and when he leaned against Lenka his eyes fell shut for a moment.

"I loved my mom an' my dad. They are gone now, but I've got Lenka. I don't need a second mom or a second dad because I have my Lenka. I love her so much."

 _Cuteness overload!_ Eligos and Foras squealed in unison and Lenka pulled him on her lap to hug him tightly then gently scratched his hair.

"And your Lenka loves you too, Miran."

"Aw," Kougyoku cooed and reached out to pat the boy as well. He smiled drowsily at the two women fawning over him.

"'m happy I got to meet you. Love you lots and lots and lots."

The blonde pressed a kiss on his head then lifted him up.

"Time for sleep. It was an exhausting day for us. Yosh, you are getting big and heavy, Miran. Guess we are feeding you too well."

"M-hm," he answered, yawned and wrapped his arms around her neck, the princess opened the door for them and hushed wished them a good rest then Lenka carried her sleepy charge into their room and tucked him in. Miran sighed and snuggled into the pillow then opened his eyes a bit.

"Are you sad we had to leave, Lenka?"

She shrugged and petted his soft hair.

"A bit, but happy the same time. Traveling is funny because you'll meet many new friends and get into exciting adventures. There were too many problems for me in Remano to enjoy living there longer."

"You know," Miran murmured after a few seconds, "I would have been okay with you and Muu becoming my family. He's nice."

Lenka started chewing on her lower lip and sighed. That was exactly her problem at the moment. Was, or rather would she be mature enough to get through this topic when she met him again after the Magnostadt war? He would be there and she had to be there as well. And putting her personal issues aside, there was still the deal with Hakuryuu and Judar. Luckily she was in Kou now. Speaking of Kou...

"Probably. Now sleep, Miran. Tomorrow is another busy day."

She leaned down to press a kiss on his cheek then watched him fall asleep. A few minutes later his breathing was deep and slow, his Rukh drawing lazy circles around him. Lenka smiled, crossed her legs and exhaled before closing her eyes to concentrate on the glowing birds that looked so much like fireflies in the dark.

 _Rukh, please sent my message to Scheherazade, Magi of Reim. Tell her I'm fine, even though the dungeon transferred me to Kou. Tell her I'll be doing my best to keep everything low._

She sighed then added a last thought.

 _Tell her I'm sorry for not coming back soon._

They chirped, fluttered around her head then disappeared through the walls. Now she could only hope they would convey her words safely and soon. Surely there had been a rather large time lag between the day she entered the dungeon and today and there was a time difference between Kou and Reim.

Lenka opened her eyes, stretched with a yawn then prepared for the night but just when she was about to pull the covers over her a black Rukh fluttered past her, followed by a second and a third. She looked through the window and found a familiar figure sitting in the tree close to the building. Suppressing the urge to mutter a curse she slipped into the coat matching her kimono and her sandals and left the room with checking one last time if Miran was sleeping soundly.

* * *

"Judar!" she hissed and rubbed her arms. Nights in Kou were chilly and even though the building in which Kougyoku lived was further away from the main house one could never fully be sure if someone was listening to their conversation or not. Orobas instantly heated the air touching her skin and the upcoming shiver stopped. The Magi grinned from his branch high up in the peach tree down at her and plucked some leafs from a twig to rip them to shreds.

"Hey blondie."

"What's the matter? I'm rather tired so it'd better be not a discussion about the financial status of Kou, or the dropping quality of peaches, which is actually really alarming."

With a low snicker he threw the shreds at her.

"Right, that would be alarming. So you've come to visit me after all."

Lenka rolled her eyes and stepped a bit closer to the tree. Vain Magi and their quirks.

"Sinbad's a git. He sent a letter to Scheherazade in which he wrote a lot of nasty lies about me. Apparently he's got the opinion that I'm a spy from Kou or something like that because you dragged me into the dungeon, even though I'm sure I explained the circumstances to him afterwards."

Judar's Rukh stirred and he leaned down so that he was half hanging, half floating, his red eyes seemed a bit brighter than usually.

"He did? Seems like I had better destroyed a bit more than simply his flimsy shields. And what did the old hag say?"

"She knew me already, and when she told me I had a screaming and cussing fit. I think she found that amusing. Everyone get's strange when they get old. And when you get very old..."

She crossed her fingers behind her back, but everything was better than getting on Judar's bad side when he had this murderous glint in his eyes. But her tactic seemed to work as it always did, the fire died down when he completely started floating in the air around the height of her head with a wide grin.

"Right! I knew you would understand that."

"Hm-hm," Lenka yawned behind her hand and blinked sleepily at him.

"Of course I do."

"It was boring without you. Kouen and Koumei are no fun anymore, it's just all about war meetings and tactics discussions and dusty old scrolls. Kouha is better, you can hold decent conversations with him now and then."

Lenka simply nodded, better not ask what he thought of as 'decent' conversations. Probably maiming, killing and destruction.

"Hakuei is almost as stuck-up as Entei these days, and the old hag is being an old hag. I don't know how you can stand her."

"You have to be a girl, Judar, for longer than five minutes I believe. And even then you have to be Lenka to be so amazing like me."

Judar chuckled and snatched at one of her flying strands in the upcoming wind.

"The only one promising is Hakuryuu, but only if he would fall into depravity. Being the only one is more than boring. Would you fall for me?"

"You know that you can interpret this in more than one way, in at least three if you are a girl," Lenka deadpanned, hoping to somehow evade this question. His sincerity made her remember another man with red eyes, and thinking of Muu Alexius in a situation where all of her thoughts had to be focused on this accumulation of insanity in front of her was fatal.

He cocked his head and winked at her. Orobas instantly jumped from his keen position on the couch to practice his stabs with the help of a pumpkin that had eerie similarity with a grinning face.

"I know. I just couldn't help myself."

"You should spent a bit more time on pick-up lines. Even Alibaba can do better, and his most glorious was something along the lines of being his queen for the night."

"Ew," Judar shuddered and started to laugh then pulled at the strand he had wrapped around his finger.

"Exactly," she agreed and scowled at him.

"Please pull at your own hair, you have more than enough of it."

"Don't want to. Yours is yellow."

"Do you know what I want to do? Sleep. A good, long sleep under a warm blanket. It's cold out here. And my hair is not yellow."

He pouted and Lenka sighed, took his hand which still held her hair and tickled the palm to get the strand free.

"I'll be here tomorrow, too. No need to worry."

"Then go," he sighed and shooed her away. She chuckled then shook her head but turned back to him with a cheeky smile.

"I'll convince Kouha to plait your hair if you try sneaking into my bed, you know?"

"You are no fun any more, too," he complained but stopped his attempt to follow her unnoticed. Lenka rolled her eyes.

"Unlike you I'm trying to grow up, you know?"

She had to run the last meters to the house to dodge the ice spears he shot after her, which showed just how mature they both were.

* * *

 **Nemeria asked for an omake. I had a flash of genius *or not*. And now I'm writing a smaller series next to my main story.**

Three-way wager (Part I)

Humming a happy tune Foras wandered through the bustling streets, the silvery staff Solomon had given her in exchange for her service, still wondering just how much things had changed. So many different races living together in harmony, eating and laughing together, helping each other...

She was glad that her tribe had been freed and more than grateful to the humans who saved them. At the same time she hoped that the rest of the world would be rescued from the hell that was living near to one of the towers. Being unable to control the own body, trapped inside the own mind...

Foras shuddered. Never again. She would do everything Solomon would ask her to do, and even more. To save everyone-

She had been so immersed in her thoughts that she completely ignored her surroundings. So it really shouldn't surprise her when she bumped face-first against something firm and warm and almost landed on her backside when she waved her arms in attempt to outbalance again. A nasty curse flashed through her mind as gravity began to pull her in the wrong direction but then a fingered hand grabbed her upper arm and stabilized her.

"Careful, you could hurt yourself."

Foras was glad that her blood had no red cells and she could blush as much as she wanted to because the voice of the person was definitely male. He was taller than her, a bit more than eight feet, bronze skin a bit lighter than her own, curved horns protruding from his short spiky white hair and had the most impressive golden eyes she had seen on before, exactly the same color of the chains wrapped around his upper body and arms. They shone with mirth when he grinned down at her and she felt her heartbeat speed up a notch. Freckles.

Looking down was a bad idea, too, because she almost started drooling over his abs. Hot damn, what a fine male specimen – wait, what was that? Face, face, look back at his face, he shouldn't think you were checking him out or something like that. Geez, Foras!

One day she would have some serious problems with her talking to herself.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt somewhere?"

Back into action! What does a nice girl say?

"No, I'm fine, thank you."

Oh, please, hopefully her voice hadn't been that squeaky as it sounded to her.

"It seems like it has become a habit of mine to run into people while thinking."

He chuckled and let go of her arm; she missed his warmth instantly. Careful, Foras, you are not beginner. Shut up.

"Is that so? Well, then good luck with it."

"I'll try my very best. Tell me your name and I'll make sure to run into you again."

His grin widened and showed perfectly white fangs. So he was a carnivore.

"Orobas, leader of the Chareezhi. I arrived here a few days ago."

"I'm Foras, leader of the ones who live with the wood. Well, if it's like that we'll see each other very soon again for your official introduction."

"Don't forget how I look like until then. Because I won't forget yours forever."

Orobas brushed his fingertips over her cheek, smiled with half-lidded eyes at her then disappeared without anther word. Foras stood there, a bit confused and slowly regaining composure then turned towards a gate to another district. She had to meet a certain person.

* * *

Eligos reached for her seventh cookie when the door flew open and Foras stormed inside, a familiar sparkle in the bright green eyes. The Fae tribe leader giggled and exchanged glances with Leraje and Paimon who were sitting on pillows on the floor of her room. She knew exactly what had caused her friend to look like that.

"You won't believe just what I saw on the street a few minutes ago."

"Baal taking Valefor for a walk?" guessed Leraje and the other two added "kinky" in unison. Foras sighed, shook her head and settled on another cushion.

"No, not them, but I agree with Ells and Pai. Kinky. Try again."

"Harem king Focalor broadening his horizon and taking a male out?"

Leraje blushed bright red while the other started to cackle like mad.

"I fear you will never find out unless I tell you."

"Eligos says you spotted some serious eye-candy."

"Thank you!" Foras exclaimed and pointed on her friend.

"She knows me best! I met the epitome of eye-candy, a shocking nine pint five on the patented Foras-ian hotness scale!"

"Holy god, has this ever happened before?" Paimon gasped in fake astonishment while Eligos almost jumped from her pillow.

"Eligos needs to see that guy!"

"You know, it could have been a girl. We don't really know how Foras defines her scale," Leraje mused but inwardly she was as excited as the others. The other female snorted and brushed her liana hair back.

"No, definitely male. _Definitely_. I haven't had a peak like that since Solomon, and he was an insane nine point seventy-five on the hotness scale. Pai was a nine, too."

"I am not disappointed in you, friend."

"Soo, you have a name or something?"

Foras had to spent the next hour describing what had happened her, every single detail, no matter how small it seemed to her. And then she came to the conclusion that the other clan leaders were perhaps worse than the humans who had built the tower to control her tribe, or that they would make the best intelligence-gathering squad Solomon could get.

And that was even before Eligos dragged them all outside and to the council hall, as if she knew exactly whom to find there.

* * *

"That one?"

"No."

"And that? Her legs are nice."

"Nope."

"What about the one at the fruit vendor over there?"

"Not my type."

"High standards much?" Barbatos asked and grinned at his newest sparring partner. Orobas shrugged and let his gaze wander over the streets he could see well from their place on the balcony of the council hall. Both tribe leaders used the language of the humans as they had learned it from Solomon when he introduced his plan to them. And it was better having one common language than learning more than a dozen to speak with the other entities here.

"Might have. The more complex and time-intensive the hunt is the more worth the prey."

Barbatos laughed and smacked the other male's shoulder.

"I knew that I like you, kid."

"I'm not that young."

"Still a kid in the measure of my folk and most of the others, too."

Orobas gave a slight growl and crinkled his nose.

"Well, better a kid than an old man."

"I'm not that old either," Barbatos complained with a half grin.

"Prove it then," drawled Orobas, inwardly giving himself a high five when the others eyes squinted. Falling prey to his own passion for hunting, how ironic.

"A dare? How interesting. What's the challenge and what's in for the win?"

"Eternal gratification for the winner. For the tasks... how about who can make the most women fall for him in a month's time?"

Barbatos grinned wide.

"I'm in. Sorry, but this is going to be another of my countless victories."

"Don't get cocky, old man."

"Neither should you, brat."

The tingling feeling he got whenever his twin was approaching made him look away from the other clan leader and at Orias who was walking towards him. The small frown he wore so often was missing at the moment and he seemed to be quite relaxed.

"Hey brother. Finished your bookwork?"

"For today. Ugo's theories are amazing. There are so many variables I haven't thought of yet... by the way, hello Barbatos."

"Hello Orias. Good that you've come out of the study, your brother is annoying as hell."

"I'm not," Orobas hurried to defend himself but his twin was already glaring at him.

"Is that so?"

"Really not!"

"He offered a bet."

Orias face-palmed with a groan. Just how idiotic could someone become?

"Tell me you did not do what Barbatos just said."

"..."

"Oh god, why did you punish me with such a foolish brother?"

* * *

"Eligos can't see a hottie besides the ones we already know," the Fae sighed and glanced at Foras who was still scanning the room for her newest object of interest. She shrugged, then looked in the direction of the balcony and blinked surprised. Even after rubbing her eyes the picture she got was still the same.

"And I'm seeing two instead of one. Excuse me, Ells, Pai, I have to check if I'm going crazy."

Foras ambled over to the three males and casually nudged Barbatos with her shoulder.

"Hey big guy, haven't seen you in a while."

He grinned down at her and tapped her nose.

"Fory, little sapling. I was busy doing some hunts and training. Orobas, Orias, this is my friend Foras," he introduced her to the others and she instantly drew conclusions. First, her vision was completely fine. Second, the others must be twins so similar were their faces and their exterior in general, even though one wore golden chains and the other silver. Third, on the patented Foras-ian hotness scale both were above nine for sure.

She pointed at Orobas.

"So we meet again, and I didn't even have to run into you."

"I noticed, but it's nice that you haven't forgotten my face."

"As if I could."

"Careful, Foras is one terrifyingly capable person," Barbatos warned with a chuckle.

"Never play tag or hide and seek with her as she will outsmart and outlast you for hours."

"What a nice compliment. Have you been training that next to your abs? They look great by the way."

"And she is quite open-minded, too."

Orobas started to grin. He had a feeling that he would like her, in every meaning of his words.

"Is that so?"

"We perverts have to stick together after all," Foras nodded and patted her friend's rear who scowled at her.

"Don't lump us together, Fory."

"But aren't you almost as perverted as me?"

"Exactly, _almost_."

"Do you want to join our bet?"

"Sure, I like gambles. Whatever it is, count me in."

"I think god has just flipped me off and told me to sort things out on my own," Orias murmured and slowly sneaked away from the three who had started to discuss their nefarious undertaking.

* * *

Gusion raised her head, jackal ears turning like radar sensors. She then nodded slowly and concentrated on the game of cards she was playing with Vinea.

"... I just noticed Orobas, Barbatos and Foras making a bet on who can seduce the most women in a month. My money is on Foras."

"I'm glad that I never thought about betting against you."

"... how clever."

"Indeed, even though your chain of victories has one dent..."

"... I never bet against Solomon saying that Ugo would have a girlfriend before he died. I never lost against him. I have Eligos on this. I will succeed. The odds are on my side."

"That grin is scary."

* * *

Eligos cracked her knuckles in anticipation when she scanned the newcomers Orobas and Orias. The first seemed just perfect for Foras, she could already see the sparks between the two of them. As far as she knew Barbatos was fairly interested in her as well, so there would be a lot of interesting situations in the near future. And they had unconsciously made the right conditions for her to set them up, too.

Orias was more of a mystery at the moment, but then the Fae caught a glimpse of Dantalion and a wide smirk spread on her childish features.

She could really work with this. They would never know what had hit them until it was too late, way too late and the wedding bells were ringing.

This was going to be great.

[to be continued...]

* * *

 **Ta-da! Another chapter! Sorry, but I'll have to stick to the bi-monthly updates. My workload just increased...**

 **So, chapter 26 will be updated on December 6!**

 **110 followers! I'm absolutely stunned and extremely happy. Thank you so much for your support *hands out cookies* first snow of the winter calls for baking sessions.**

 **To the guest reviewers!**

 **Guest: he he, thank you!**

 **Gadget boy: Maa, maybe a little annoyed but much more interested in her background story. The other person at the moment who has more than one djinn is Sinbad and I highly doubt they could do some male bonding and sharing their dungeon stories when their countries are a step away from war. ;D**

 **haru: When I read your review I wanted to cuddle you. So. Much. Exactly what I wanted to achieve. A good story should be like a movie for the reader. Thank you so much!**

 **Nemeria: No biggie. The next year is probably the one I will be broke because of so many new movies, new manga etc. to view and buy and whatever.**

 **I found a lot more mistakes :| in my document are none but after I uploaded to ff... shock!**

 **Don't worry, there will be more Kouha in the next chapters. I like him quite a lot.**

 **Thank you for inspiring me to the new omake series! Eligos will wreck havoc. The matchmaker's ascendance has begun!**

 **Good luck with your endeavor! I don't have Batman's phone number and then I doubt he would have the time to jump through dimensions to beat some minor criminals to a pulp.**

 **You will read from me! I can't describe just how happy I am with you reading my story. Really can't do.**

 **Lots of love,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes because I do the correcting stuff on my own and English is not my native language.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 26 Talking and Meeting the Evil Witch Queen

"I still don't know what this is all about. Green suits me," Lenka tried to calm an enraged Kougoku. The servants had brought green clothes for her, but the color was totally disapproved by the princess who now scowled at her friend.

"Green are commoner's clothes, white the ones for the higher families. You are a noble."

"Yeah, but that is more or less unimportant in my world."

"Here it is, and as your host I can't accept the fact that they dare to bring you commoner's clothes."

Miran looked up from his breakfast and tilted his head. Clothes was not an important issue for him, Lenka bought them and they either fit or didn't fit.

"Then wear a dress from Reim. The pretty one from the founder's feast."

The blonde frowned and crossed her arms while thinking.

"That is a good idea, but I think I should wear this if I ever have the misfortune to meet the empress."

Luckily she had been forced by Myron to buy a lot more on that day and thus pulled another white dress out of the black storage hole, almost the same design. The only difference was that it had no cape but a deep plum-colored shawl and leather straps around her upper body. Kougyoku nodded approvingly when the blonde did a pirouette.

"This will be okay, I guess. But the elders will still get skeptical of you, Lenka. We hadn't had an ambassador of Reim here in ages. I can't even remember if there ever was one."

"I think I'll be fine," she replied and combed her hair with a brush then attempted to braid it to the side. Scheherazade had answered her through a Rukh this morning and ordered her to act as goodwill ambassador in the Magnostadt question. It was a very vague message so she decided to improvise if someone asked her, telling something about greater good and an attempt to cover the distance between the two nations. The second part worried her even more: _don't get deceived,_ Scheherazade had said, _keep out of the Kou internal politics as much as possible_. A contradiction to the first sentence and a nearly hopeless undertaking for Lenka: becoming a dungeon capturer of Judar had already pulled her into the spider's web.

Kougyoku clicked her tongue then walked over to help her friend with the hair.

"I hope I can stay to hear your story, but I doubt brother Kouen will let me."

"Then I say I will tell you everything later. A female conspiracy, or so to say."

"And I'll stay because I'm your household member," Miran added and placed his chopsticks next to the plate. Slowly he got more confident with the tiny sticks of doom. The princess frowned at the braid then used a leather strap to tie it in place.

"I don't think he'll be convinced this easily."

"Lenka can do anything," he said with imperturbable trust in his guardian shining from his eyes then he frowned as if he had realized something crucial.

"Well, anything but being honest to herself."

"Huh?" Kougyoku asked and turned to the boy who nodded and crossed his arms.

"Yes, if she had been honest to herself we would be in Reim now and perhaps celebrate her proposal."

"Proposal!" the princess squealed then scowled at Lenka.

"You are betrothed to whom? Why didn't you tell me?! Is he good-looking?"

"I'm not! Miran, the curse of porridge will strike you when you least expect it!"

"But Myron said... well, she said it was only a matter of time."

"Yes, and that means we are _not_ engaged. Besides, Orobas doesn't approve of him."

 _Well, he's not as bad as the perverted girly Magi brat and the perverted stupid king, so..._

"Orobas! What happened to you!" Lenka screamed and shook the pendant in desperation.

"You are not the Orobas I knew! He would never say he'd approve of a male besides him! And Miran, but he's your household, so what happened to you!"

 _I happened,_ Foras said with a smug grin and suggestively wriggled her eyebrows. The blonde gasped at the ring on her finger.

"No way! Are you an item again?"

 _Yep, and they celebrated their reunion very enthusiastically,_ Orias shuddered and dodged the pillow his brother threw from his place on the couch at him.

 _Eligos needed earplugs,_ the djinn added and rubbed her arms under the chilly breeze Foras' gentle smile caused.

"Oh, you poor guys. But thanks for the blackmailing info, Elly."

 _Eligos is always helpful._

"It's always a bit creepy when she does this," Miran entrusted Kougyoku who nodded in agree then both redheads stared at Lenka who continued to chat with her djinn until she noticed their careful glances and stopped.

"Yeah, so, shall we go to the meeting?"

* * *

A small group of soldiers joined them outside the building to guide them to Kouen's private meeting chambers, which was a bit over-the-top for Lenka. She wasn't weak, Kougyoku either, but apparently every female needed at least two guards to cross a road. Luckily the omnipresent advisor of Kougyoku, Ka Koubun, had been banned from the talking so she could present herself from her best side. Or what she thought of being her best side.

The soldiers stopped in front of a huge wooden door and Lenka, Kougyoku and Miran entered a library. The blonde was amazed how many scrolls were stored in here in high shelves, small parchment straps with the titles hung from the end of the wooden sticks, candles were burning, the whole room smelled like dust, ink, parchment and the wood used for the shelves.

Kouen sat on a chair near a huge window from which he could look into a smaller garden, Koumei and was standing next to him. Both looked up at their entry, Koumei nodded politely.

"Miss Lenka."

"You two can go," Kouen bluntly told Miran and Kougyoku who instantly hid behind her sleeves. Lenka raised a brow and touched her friend's shoulder to keep her from leaving.

"Kougyoku is my friend. She knows a lot about me and will hear everything what we will speak about either way. Miran is my household member. My djinn would open a connection between my mind and his if there was vital information to witness. You have seen Orobas; he was the one who was about to bite Judar's head off. He's very protective of what belongs to him, to put it mildly."

One corner of Koumei's mouth rose to a half smile.

"I see. My brother and king?"

"Then stay," answered Kouen and jerked his head towards the sofa and chairs opposite of his. Kougyoku gave Lenka's hand a short grateful squeeze as they took place on the sofa, small Miran took the chair and continued to eye the princes closely. Somehow this situation reminded her of the talk she had had back in Balbadd with Sinbad before he kissed her and a small shudder crept down her spine. Luckily she had her friends with her this time.

She leaned back and laced her fingers in her lap while looking at them with a slight but attentive smile.

"You wanted to speak with me, Lord Kouen."

"What are you doing here?" he asked forthright but at least bothered to look her in the eyes.

"Sitting and admiring the library. I'd love to read through the works some day."

 _Stupid question, stupid answer,_ Gusion muttered then chuckled at the glance the men exchanged. Koumei spoke for his brother then.

"As we have witnessed yesterday you possess five djinn. May I ask how you got them?"

 _The truth or the version in which you came from Reim?_ Orobas asked with a frown.

 _Better. A mixture of both,_ Lenka answered and nodded.

"You may, Prince Koumei. The country I'm from is called England, or the British Empire, a land far, far away. I don't know if I can ever return. I somehow fell into a dungeon, captured it and found myself the oasis Qishan in the great desert. From there on I traveled towards Balbadd and met King Sinbad undercover on the way. Several incidences later I was invited to come to Sindria with three friends I had made. This led to me acquiring my second dungeon which was raised surprisingly in the middle of the ocean. The third I conquered with the help of Judar-"

Kouen sat up straight and a smirk tugged at his lips. Lenka frowned and stopped.

"Is something the matter?"

He shook his head but the gleam in his eyes didn't die down.

"Continue. The third dungeon."

"Yes, Judar more or less dragged me into it. We had met in Balbadd before and he had shown interest in me. I had no chance to decline and when I came back Sinbad refused to let me stay as he suspected I was a secret spy of Kou. Again."

Koumei hid behind his fan and his brother snorted his disapproval.

"So I departed for Reim with the intention to train under Shambal Ramal's tutelage, stopped by in Aktia, freed Miran and more or less adopted him," the boy smiled wide at her, "and we continued our travel together. On the western continent we accidentally entered the dungeon Eligos – okay, with the intent to get another djinn, I have to admit that. In Remano I graduated the gladiator school after one fight, I know how hilarious that sounds, as Shambal said that my _magoi_ -control was perfect already. Due to the display of my rather unusual abilities I caught the attention Reim's Magi Scheherazade who bestowed the honour of being one of her king candidates upon me as the dungeon I just had conquered had been raised by her.

I conquered the fifth because of personal reasons and got teleported here by the djinn."

Lenka inhaled, exhaled and smiled at the princes. Short and with as much information she could afford to share with them. Kouen nodded slowly and looked at her more closely.

"Why would Sinbad suspect you of being a spy for us?"

She shrugged then exchanged glances with Kougyoku.

"As I said before I met Judar in Balbadd and decided to go with Kougyoku to heal him as it was partly my fault that he had been injured, instead of staying with him and my friends. Judar showed his interest several times but I managed to convinced Sinbad that I was no threat. That was the first time."

"And the second was when Judar invited you to the dungeon," Koumei added for her so she smiled at him and nodded.

"Exactly. After destroying the shields, part of the palace, threatening his advisor, guest, proclaiming war and making a fool of him. He really set the bar high that time, didn't he, Kougyoku?"

"He did," the princess agreed with a furious nod then hid behind her sleeves. Lenka fondly patted her right arm then sighed.

"Sinbad is difficult. He would do everything for his country, like many other influential people I've met up until now."

Kouen raised a brow, still smirking at her and another shiver ran down her spine.

"He was in a very bad mood when he returned to us. What happened in the third dungeon?"

She flinched, looked away and raised her hands as if to keep his interested glance away, a pointless endeavor.

"I believe this is a thing between us."

"They kissed," Kougyoku told her brother from behind her sleeves.

"Ew," Miran shuddered and Lenka felt her cheeks heating up.

"Kougyoku, I swear to God, Solomon and everyone who might hear me, this will have some serious consequences later. Prepare for the worst: I'll ask Kouha to teach me braiding. And then you will suffer big time."

Kouen nodded and stroked his goatee.

"I figured as much after witnessing their innuendo-filled talk yesterday."

"The 'Chase the Suitors away from Lenka'-committee strongly disapproves of this," Miran said and tapped on his brass knuckles. Kougyoku stared disbelievingly at the boy.

"Really? Have you ever seen them together? They are so cute!"

"Totally impossible," said Lenka and shook her head.

"I ship you and him. He always calls you old hag, but I believe he does this because he likes you and doesn't want you to know."

"No! Absolutely not!"

The blonde snapped her fingers.

"Ha! Now I know. It's Sinbad he's interested in! He only kissed me because I told him I kissed the stupid king! That would explain why he was so adamant on becoming Sindria's Magi in the past."

The princess' jaw fell then she nodded and clapped her hands.

"That's so logic it's incredible we didn't think of it sooner!"

"But Sinbad is in a secret relationship with Ja'far already, the whole womanizing is only a cover so he doesn't get caught when having a homoerotic relationship with his attendant, or why else would they bicker like a long married couple about his alcohol consume and slacking off during work hours?"

"A triangle!" Kougyoku almost squealed and blushed with sparkling eyes.

"Everything makes sense now!"

… _behold the incredibly powerful imagination of fangirls,_ Gusion stated dryly. Kouen and Koumei stared dumbstruck at the giggling women on the sofa before they exchanged glances.

"I've never seen you this passionate, Kougyoku," the first prince said and effectively stopped the incoming fangirl craze. The princess blushed a deeper shade of red and hid behind her sleeves again.

"I'm sorry for interrupting the talk, brother."

"You weren't interrupting, dear, you were selling me out."

"He said he knew already, didn't he?"

"I believe he can talk for himself," Koumei said from behind his fan. Lenka chuckled then looked at Kouen.

"Nice if you have people speaking your thoughts while you were about to form them."

"Indeed," he smirked.

"Back to business. Will you work with us?"

"On what? World domination? Sorry, but that is the image you're giving everyone," shrugged the blonde and smiled.

"I don't want to dominate. We need to unite the world. That is our goal."

* * *

Lenka stared wide-eyed at Kouen. Did she understand him correctly? Did he really say what she thought he had been saying?

"Unite," she repeated slowly and leaned back.

 _Guys, do you think it's wise to tell him I'm from a world with around two-hundred countries from which 193 form the United Nations? A large-scale alliance?_

 _No,_ Gusion answered instantly.

 _The chance of_ them _hearing about it is too big. It can be held against you._

 _But I have to do something._

 _Then think about it quickly, I don't like the way he's staring at you._

"What made you think you need to unite the world?"

Kouen's smile faded and his hard glance softened minimally to a thoughtful expression.

"I've been thinking about the meaning of a 'king vessel'. Just what is a 'king vessel'?"

Scheherazade had asked her almost the same question when they first met, Lenka realized then tried to answered Kouen the same as she had then.

"A Magi chooses a king vessel by leading him or her through a dungeon and fully supports them so they can create an empire, like Scheherazade of Reim did. But in this era there are several dungeon capturers who all have different plans for the future. Those who can convince a Magi of their goals will realize them.

As far as I know Yunan didn't choose a king vessel but several people have conquered dungeons raised by him, like Sinbad and me.

Scheherazade chose to assist Reim several hundred years ago and raises dungeons for the empire to uphold it. She has asked me the same question as you did."

"And what did you answer?" he questioned with barely contained interest.

"The same as I told you. Her reply was that I was the ideal candidate for a king vessel. I declined politely but she nevertheless proclaimed me as her king candidate."

His hands grabbed the armrest so tight the wood creaked in protest.

"What is your goal then?"

"To change destiny to the light's favour," Lenka replied honestly. She must have said this sentence at least twenty times now, but she was still contended with how mysterious and badass it sounded. His and Koumei's reactions were priceless. Their jaws fell for a few seconds before they recovered.

The hungry glint in Kouen's eyes was almost menacing now but at the same time he was giddy with excitement.

"Destiny. What will you do to change destiny?"

"Everything that is possible except falling into depravity and pointless killing. What will you do to reach your goal?"

Kouen smirked again.

"Everything possible."

She sighed and rubbed her temples.

"This is getting really intense now. Kouen, I have to warn you. Waging war and conquering other countries will not get the world united. Treaties, patience, tolerance, acceptance, trust, those are the keys. Trust me, I have several hundred years of history and knowledge to prove my point.

By the way, could you please lean back, you are almost sitting on my lap now."

"Several hundred years?" he asked with almost sparkling eyes but followed her wish.

 _Careful now,_ Orias warned. Lenka slightly tilted her head.

"More or less. Fact is that countries based on slavery are sooner or later doomed to fail. There are always people opposing the principle of others being reduced to simple objects. I belong to those. Objectification is disgusting. We are all humans, every life is equally important. We are different and that makes us unique. But whether we have different skin colours, physical traits, beliefs, genders or sexual orientations, we are all born as humans. Before we are fanalis, Kouga, Sindrian, Reimian, British or Torran, we are human."

"Are you saying our lives are as important as those of the canal cleaners in the city?" Koumei asked with dangerously low voice.

"We are only different because there are differences in power. What if the canal cleaner was to conquer a dungeon tomorrow and then lead a slave revolution against you and you'd loose? Then you would be forced to leave the country like it happened in Balbadd.

Those who are powerful set the rules. Those who are superior rule the others. But what makes superior? Metal vessels? Not necessarily. One of our friends is a dungeon capturer currently trying to find a way to get his country back. He's absolutely normal, suffered like a commoner, crawled in the dirt in front of of people who were superior at the particular moment. Minutes later those were licking his boots.

And why was that so?

Because they found out that he was of his royal birth. And why was he born royal? Because his father was and his grandfather and so on. And how became the first in line a noble?"

"Because he somehow gained power," Kouen said. Lenka nodded.

"Because he gained power and set the rules. Set his destiny. Shared his belief with others who agreed with what he thought was right.

Take Sinbad as an example. As far as I know he was a fisherman's son who got into the first dungeon, Baal. He wanted to built a country in which everyone could live free, happy and equal. He shared his belief with other countries and created the Seven Seas Alliance through treaties and thus expanded the range in which his belief was spread. This is the peaceful way. The members of the alliance won't attack each other, but if one of them is attacked the others come to crush the enemy. That's the way it should work, shouldn't it?"

Kouen nodded in agree and signaled her to continue. Lenka inhaled deeply. Now she had to bring forth her plan.

"I believe the only way to change destiny and unite the world would be to have Reim, the Alliance and Kou to form a treaty and get rid of Al-Thamen with all forces these three superpowers could muster."

Miran suddenly sat straighter in his seat as did Kougyoku and her brothers. Koumei was impressed but skeptical as well.

"I don't think this would be possible as Kou has declared war to Sindria."

"Just say Judar acted on accord of them or on his own."

"Either way the economical and political consequences a pact of this dimension would have on Kou..."

"We are too tightly connected with them," Kouen stated but continued to watch Lenka as if she was an incredibly interesting specimen, a giant green mushroom with purple sparkles perhaps that sung with the voice of birds or something like that.

"It could destroy everything we've built up until now."

"Does that mean you've submitted to them? Accept your fate without resistance? If it was like that I would be disappointed of how different you are from the things I've heard of you by your siblings."

 _And from your lecture by the way,_ Orobas added.

 _Shut up, I have to concentrate on what to tell him._

Kouen's eyes narrowed.

"And what did you hear?"

"You are strong and follow your beliefs. You are an excellent leader who tries to find a way to improvise the living conditions of the citizens, not only in Kou but in the whole world. As I have noticed from talking with you are intelligent and enjoy academic discourse and learning new things.

Kougyoku is grateful for you acknowledging her as someone who is strong enough to fight at your side."

The princess blushed and hid behind her sleeves as both her brothers looked at her.

"... I really am. It would be great if you would overcome your differences with Sindria. It's a beautiful island and the people are very nice and moreover, innocent. Don't let them become involved in pointless slaughter if you could go another way. A more peaceful way."

 _Do you hear this buzzing sound?_ Gusion suddenly asked and her jackal ears turned to catch the noise. The twins instantly stopped cooking respectively cuddling Foras and listened.

 _I do_ , Orias lowered the knife and looked at Orobas who slowly nodded.

 _But I can't grasp from where it comes. It feels familiar._

 _Eligos doesn't hear a thing._

 _Me neither,_ Foras and Lenka agreed then frowned as a shiver crept down the traveler's spine.

A knock on the door interrupted whatever Kouen was to say to his sister and two of the hooded priests entered, followed by a third she recognized. The banker with the mismatched eyes and the toothy grin bowed politely in front of the dungeon capturers.

"Pardon the intrusion, Lord Kouen, but the empress wishes to see the ambassador of Reim."

* * *

The Empress. She felt a tug at her _magoi_ when Eligos' charming protection kicked in and her djinn stirred from their relaxed state. Lenka shuddered and exchanged glances with Kouen whose gaze hardened. He nodded almost unnoticeable and she felt her stomach drop to her knees. Fudge.

"Miran, stay with Kougyoku please," she ordered and stood up with a soothing smile for her household member, hoping he wouldn't notice her growing panic.

"I'll try to be back soon."

And alive, she added inwardly then bowed slightly for the princes.

"Lord Kouen, thank you for your time."

"It was a pleasure," the answer came with another short nod. He wished her luck. And she would need every ounce of it if she really was to meet the empress of Kou. She ignored the hand the magician politely offered her. Avoiding as much physical and Rukh contact with the fallen dolls as possible Lenka left the room and waited outside for them to catch up and take the lead. The banker grinned at her.

"I believe we have met in Balbadd before, young lady."

"My memory of faces is not that good, you might have slipped my mind," she replied and rubbed her right thumb over the metal vessel ring Foras had chosen to reside in. His voice was oily and sleek and sweet like poison and threatened to invade her conscience like ink dripped in clear water.

"Alas, at least I can remember the encounter with a woman as gifted as you are."

"You're flattering me."

The closer she got to the audience hall the denser the black Rukh she encountered became and as soon as she entered she knew why: the only persons inside were the priests and the empress. Ren Gyokuen smiled sickeningly sweet at her when she bowed deep in the traditional Kou greeting.

"Empress Gyokuen. My condolences for your loss of your husband and Congratulations to ascending to the throne. May your reign be a successful and prosperous one."

 _Caption: I hope you die soon, bitch,_ Orobas stage-whispered and rose from the couch to wait for her command. Gyokuen smiled even more.

"I thank you ambassador. May I ask your name as we haven't officially been introduced to each other?"

Her voice made her skin crawl as if a myriad of ants were running over her but she bowed again, exposing her neck to the evil witch of Al-Thamen.

"The name is Lenka Sensenmacher, your highness."

It was so wrong telling her her name. Names had power. Gyokuen tilted her head and pressed her fingertips together.

"My, could you be the Lenka our Judar talked about?"

The priests stomped their staffs on the floor and answered her like the chorus in a mad orchestra play and their Rukh trilled shrill and agitated.

"The oracle has mentioned her!"

The blonde had to fight the rising nausea and bowed a third time, just to be sure the witch would think of her as polite and completely and utterly respectful.

"I might be as he helped me conquer a dungeon."

"Wonderful!" exclaimed Gyokuen.

"He was so full of praise for your abilities. Ithnaan was interested in you as well but alas, he does not roam this world any longer."

"How... unfortunate," Lenka answered and her stomach clenched even more under the assault of the countless black birds and their sickening aura. The empress nodded and sighed theatrically.

"Indeed. He saw limitless potential in you, as did Judar. But I wonder what your objective here is," she mused and the blonde had the impression that the white of the other woman's eyes was turning black. Every single cell in her body screamed at her for not running away in terror but it was as if she had been frozen to the floor in her fear.

Certain death. Certain death. One move and she would die. Black. Black. Death. Insanity. Death. No escape. Certain death. Any second now.

This. Who could ever kill this mass of darkness, this endless well of deceit, murder and cruelty? She couldn't. Solomon, what was she in comparison to the being sitting high on the throne of an expanding empire, this thing that controlled an uncountable army of depraved persons?

Nothing.

 _You are Lenka!_ Eligos screamed at her.

 _We chose you,_ Gusion growled.

 _You! Over hundreds and thousands of other souls!_ Orobas mentally knocked her upon the head.

 _Don't forget what you owe us and those who have died following the way you're walking._

 _Don't forget your oath to Solomon!_

Lenka inhaled deeply and smiled while bowing again.

"I came here to congratulate as well as to fulfill a promise I had given the eight princess, Ren Kougyoku as she had invited me as a friend. My aim is not to stir trouble in your realm, Empress Gyokuen."

I can't do a thing against you and thus won't try to fight you openly.

"My, what a polite thing to do."

Don't mess with me, bitch.

"I always fulfill an obligation and answer requests made by friends with joy."

I know where my loyalties lie and am powerful enough to do so.

"Your Magi must be very proud of you."

Whom do you really serve?

"I try to fulfill my orders the best I can."

Won't tell you, hag.

"Are you perhaps interested in joining the Kou empire? My children and especially Judar would be very happy if you did so."

Do you want more power? I could give you everything you desire. You just have to fall into depravity and become my pawn.

"Sadly I have to decline as my connections with Reim and Sindria run to deep to be beneficial to Kou. I prefer to act as neutral counsellor and ambassador if requested."

I know what happens when I accept and where I can go to for support. I like to keep out of your squabble, though.

"What a shame, we would welcome you with open arms."

You are powerful and I need a loyal lackey. Come on.

"Maybe I will have to accept your generous offer later in the future, Empress, but not at the moment as I have already offered my services to someone else."

Never ever ever in hell.

"As much as I enjoyed our conversation I feel the need to end it now. The council of elders will arrive soon to discuss the war plans and I fear they can't start without me."

Out or I'll end you, girly.

"It was my utmost pleasure to entertain you, Empress Gyokuen."

Fudge you, wrinkly hag.

Lenka bowed, took two steps back then turned around to leave with her head held high despite her inner commotion.

* * *

She managed to walk through two halls and get into a garden before she broke down on a veranda, shivering and shaking like a leaf in terror and leaning against the wall while being rolled to a ball. Never before she had encountered someone so terrifying, so completely and utterly evil that she had difficulties describing just how _wrong_ Ren Gyokuen simply felt, not to mention of what the woman, if that was a sufficient term for her outward appearance, was capable of.

She could have died in there, even before she would have been able to realize that she was dead. Or rather she would have suffered thousands of cruel and nightmarish deaths before finally committing seppukku with her katana.

A familiar Rukh fluttered by and she looked up to find Hakuryuu standing a few meters away.

"Miss Lenka? Are you alright?"

She jumped up and raced over to pull him into a tight embrace.

"Hakuryuu, you are a wonder. It's a true miracle that you haven't gone mental already after being so close to that woman for years. You are incredible. You are absolutely and utterly incredible."

Lenka pressed a kiss on the scarred side of his face then stepped back to look him in the uneven eyes.

"I am proud to call you friend right now."

He blushed a little and looked away.

"I'm not that amazing. I couldn't do anything."

"Hakuryuu, you were a child back then. An innocent child simply can't do a thing against a being like this."

She took his face in her hands and urged him to look up to her again.

"Hakuryuu, I can't do a thing against her. Neither can Sinbad or Kouen. Heck, the three of us together could barely scratch her, even if we used up our lives and died attempting."

He froze up when she mentioned Kouen and his eyes instantly turned cold and steely. Lenka pulled and squished his cheeks in return.

"You don't scowl at me, young man. He is well aware of the fact that he is powerless against her. He hasn't said 'no' to a possible alliance with the Seven Seas and Reim to destroy them yet."

His eyes widened in surprise and she grinned.

"Exactly. Don't loose faith in the light yet Hakuryuu. We still have a chance. All you need to do is to hold out a little longer. You are strong enough to do so. Your mind is stronger.

 _Don't fall._ "

"I don't know if I can," he whispered and freed himself from her grip.

"It is... so difficult."

"If I could you will be able to do so as well," Lenka replied stubbornly. Hakuryuu shook his head and an almost maniac glint appeared in his eyes as well as a sneer when he stepped closer again, menacing, black Rukh started fluttering around him.

"You don't know a thing about me, Lenka. This hatred... it will never go away. Don't try to be all sunshine and roses with me. You know nothing."

"No, you know nothing," she growled and glared back at him.

"Have you ever been raped, Hakuryuu? By your sadistic pedophile of a father?"

He flinched but didn't back off and she continued her lecture.

"Have you been accused for killing your twin for years by your own father? Have you been deteriorated and abused simply because you had the wrong gender? Have you been raped by your very own father until you couldn't even crawl or scream anymore because you were choked so had you fainted? Violated until you were bleeding and sore and then forced to orally satisfy your torturer? Stripped bare and had put a collar on you and a leash of steel chains and then fed dog food when the sun sank? Cut and marked with a burning cigar like cattle for sale?

You mother killed your father, brothers and threatened your sister? At least she admitted to you she did it and they had a relatively fast death.

My father slowly killed my mother, married the sadistic slut he had knocked up, raped me for years, practically sold me to the one bidding highest without me knowing and threatened to do the same thing to my sister and half-brother while I was 'serving' my husband-to-be in front of them, then his father and every other candidate that would come for me so they could make sure how well he had trained me.

And here, where I could finally recover from the trauma of being so utterly mentally fucked up I got dragged into a dungeon which messed with my memories and had me experience the horror of being back there again! And the cherry on top is that while I was in Reim I practically violated an absolutely nice and honest guy who was on top courting me simply because I was under the influence of a drug.

Have you, Hakuryuu? Have you felt the pain I have felt? Have you been a mental wreck like me?"

She jerked her chin up in a gesture of defiance.

"Come back when you have experienced the very same. Until then you can stop your self-pitying and hold on for Christ's sake!"

During her recollection of the past his face had lost all color and a disbelieving then appalled expression had replaced the initial anger and finally, guilt. Lenka perversely felt satisfaction when he bit on his lower lip and looked down; she reached out and raised his chin again to look him in the eye.

"Look at me and say you had it worse. _Say it_."

Hakuryuu gulped but somehow the hard words of hers had reached him.

"I... can't say I had it worse."

"Finally," she sighed and combed his bangs back into place.

"Don't forget that. You are not alone. There are others suffering like you do, like I did and they will continue to suffer if we continue doing nothing."

He nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry for doubting you."

Lenka grinned.

"Apology accepted, but I want you to do something. Talk to your sister. I have noticed she worries about you. Apologize for whatever you did up until now then take her for a walk and explain everything from the start. Tell her the true story."

Hakuryuu frowned deeply then his shoulders slumped and she could see a flutter of white Rukh towards him.

"I'll try."

Maybe, maybe this was the first step away from the terrible future she had to prevent.

* * *

When she arrived at her room she found Miran sitting next to the doorframe, staring at something further inside the dark chamber.

"Hey, little one, what's wrong?"

"'That' is here," he scowled and rubbed his brass knuckles before making fists. Lenka frowned and looked from him to the fluttering of the Rukh in the room until she spotted the lazing figure on the sofa. There was only one person in the whole empire who would sneak into other people's rooms and then pretend to be asleep.

"Fudge," escaped her, "what is he thinking? Miran, can you go to Kougyoku? I'll fetch you later, when I managed to get him out."

"She felt not well after the meeting. I'll wait outside on the porch."

Lenka closed the door behind him and listened to his steps for a few seconds then turned towards the Magi on her couch.

"Judar. May I ask what you were thinking? If you were thinking."

He opened his eyes to grin mischievously at her.

"I just wanted to see why you brought that twerp with you. He's even smaller than the Chibi."

"That's because he's about two years younger. I bet you weren't always this big, weren't you?"

"I was stronger."

"Just because you're a Magi."

"Yep."

During their banter she dropped her shawl on the cupboard and kicked away her sandals before taking place on the other sofa across his. Judar rolled onto his side to look at her, still grinning wide.

"I heard you have met the witch hag."

"Please spare me with talks about her. Meeting Gyokuen should be considered dungeon trial."

He snickered then floated over to her couch to drop on her lap.

"What did you talk about with Kouen?"

"My, aren't we nosy today?" Lenka murmured and started to pet his head, a habit she had developed long ago when her siblings were to use her as pillow.

"Just talking about my dungeon adventures and his goals for the future. A basic discussion about the worth of human lives."

"That's boring."

"Actually it wasn't that boring. Kougyoku was there with me. We had fun, but I don't think Koumei and Kouen had."

"You are strange," he murmured and rubbed his thumb over her kneecap. A shiver ran down her spine, neither pleasant nor unpleasant.

"Stop that. It tickles."

Judar turned around so she could see his wide grin.

"Are you ticklish, Lenka?"

"Try it and I'll let you walk around as a girl for the next two months."

"Meanie."

"I had great teachers."

Lenka used the following pause to tickle his nose with the end of his braid and giggled when the Magi scowled at her.

"Are you bored, Judar?"

"Incredibly so. Nothing happens any more. No big war with someone strong, no conquests, nothing. It's frustrating."

"Does that mean I had more fun this past months than you?"

 _That sounded strange._

 _I just noticed, Orias._

Luckily Judar didn't notice as well, he simply frowned at Lenka then pinched her side and cackled when she flinched and tried to wriggle away from his tickling fingers.

"Git."

"But you like me."

"Maybe."

She sighed and leaned back to stare at the ornamented ceiling. A small spot attracted her attention and the longer she stared at the more spots appeared and started to dance before her eyes. Lenka sighed again.

"Do you know the feeling when you realize that you have done something incredibly stupid?"

He took his time with answering and then simply grumbled in agree.

"I want to head-butt the wall."

"Help yourself."

"Can't. You're lying on me.

I mean, at first it seemed like the best idea you had in a while and then after you, let's say, ate fifteen peaches and drank two bottles of wine everything falls out of your face? Incredibly dumb."

"I never regretted eating fifteen peaches," Judar mused.

"Me neither, but hypothetically speaking. I feel incredibly dumb right now."

"Isn't this your normal state?"

Lenka pinched his cheeks and wondered about the soft texture for a few seconds.

"Stupid Judar. We can't hold up a decent conversation, can't we?"

"Why should we?"

She groaned and shook her head.

"Now that was stupid. It sounded like a good idea in my head to talk with you."

"Hey!" the Magi protested and sat up to scowl at her.

"So you're saying talking with me is stupid?"

"I just said that _my idea_ was stupid."

"Oh."

Judar instantly relaxed and changed his position until he could nuzzle his head in the crook of her neck.

"You are really cuddly today. Or is it because you missed me?"

"Oh please. Who would miss someone like you?"

"Well, you obviously. Then there is Miran, my siblings, Mor, Aladdin-"

"I got it," he grumbled then jumped from the couch.

"So maybe I missed you. So what?"

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"I missed you too."

* * *

Since the familiar was there Miran was less bored. The glowing white bird that appeared when he focused on his household vessels was kind of funny in the way it fluttered and spoke with a higher-pitched version of Orobas' voice that spouted commands for the first executioner, like when it had introduced itself when he activated his household vessel.

 _I am the familiar of the household of cleansing light, born from the passionate and certainly unhealthy over-protectiveness of Orobas, djinn of faithfulness and truth and his chosen queen, the incredibly awesome Lenka! Let's crush her enemies, har har har!_

Now what was there more to explain? He was stuck with an insane voice in his head. It could have been worse, the voice could have been his own, Miran decided and wriggled his toes in the spot of light the setting sun spent. The air smelled different here in Kou, much more like hot spices and the sweetness of the peach trees growing in the palace orchards whereas Reim held the fragrances of olives and lemons and and an aroma he could only describe as friendly. A bit like home. He didn't know if Lenka felt the same, but he missed his life in Remano quite a lot, the sparring with his friends, the food and the other fanalis, but the chance was still there that they would return one day.

"What are you doing here?"

Miran looked up and tilted his head in confusion. Who was the pink-haired girl again? No, it wasn't a girl, even if he looked rather feminine. But as far as he could see the other was a skilled fighter, a predator. Someone he should better not antagonize.

"'That' is in the room. I choose to wait outside for it's leave."

Pinky tilted his head as well.

"'That'?"

"You know, 'that'. The guy with the black braid."

He shuddered when he remembered the smell of that person. Sweet, but with a bitter and sharp tint that made his head spin and stomach churn. Bad. The other nodded and balanced on his heels.

"Judar? He's awfully interested in blondie."

"Her name is Lenka. I don't like him being around her."

"Why?"

"We, the committee, disapprove of him," he replied with a nod and crossed his arms for a few seconds. The other chuckled and flopped down next to him.

"Because he's a guy? Do you disapprove of me, too?"

Miran waited a few seconds with his answer to listen if the familiar had something to say then shook his head.

"He smells bad. You don't smell bad like him, plus Eligos likes your djinn, and Orobas hasn't declared you an enemy yet, so you are okay I guess."

"You decide who's permitted to see her based on smell? So like what do I smell?" Pinky giggled and leaned closer to him. Miran was thinking hard. Was this this ominous flirting Orobas had warned him of? Or was the other just that strange? On the other hand he had met a lot of strange people already, one or two more wouldn't really matter at this point.

"Warm. A bit like spices, a bit metallic like copper and similar to Miss Kougyoku."

"Like the hag?"

The boy-girl was clearly shocked, so he added "And like Lord Kouen and Lord Koumei, too."

"Whew, I just saw my life flashing before my eyes, but if brother En and Mei smell like me it's okay I guess.

I'm Kouha, third imperial prince."

"Miran, Lenka's first household member and executioner of the 'Chase the Suitors away from Lenka'-committee," the boy introduced himself. Kouha giggled again.

"You are funny. Taking this whole committee thing so seriously..."

"You would be amazed to hear what would have happened without me already..."

He had the feeling he had found a new friend already.

* * *

 **And chapter 26 is out for the audience! I'll continue with the omake story in the next upload, which will be on Dec 20! The real world tries to keep me from writing...**

 **A huge thank-you to everyone who favorited/followed/and reviewed! *hands out the cookies***

 **DaFierceBitch, Madam3Mayh3m, Kankri: Ship who you like to ship! I'm simply overwhelmed just how far your interest in my story goes. Absolutely overwhelmed. And so happy *cries tears of joy*  
**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	27. Chapter 27

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes because I do the correcting stuff on my own and English is not my native language.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 27: The ones who will be leaving

Good and not so good things happened in the last week, Lenka decided after summarizing the past five days she spent in Kou.

On the good side was that Hakuei visited Lenka, Kougyoku and Miran in one of the rear gardens where the two dungeon capturers had been practicing fencing. The princess had hugged her and thanked her for talking some reason in Hakuryuu while her first household member, a petite man named Seisyun, showed Miran how he used his household vessel. The boy had been very impressed.

Almost too soon for her taste they had said their good-byes as Hakuei had to return to the Tenzan plateau to govern her part of the imperial army.

That meant, another point on this side, that Hakuryuu had spoken with his sister and accepted her, well, encouragement to get his ass up and jump over his shadow and apologize. A step towards the better future.

Third point on the good side, she got along well with Kougyoku's brothers, especially Kouha, who was more than ecstatic to have found someone who would spar with him, survive his insane overpowered attacks and then let him plait her hair. Kouen was happy that she gave him the scrolls she had taken with her from her house in Reim and the notes of the Toran inscriptions she had photoed back in Orobas' dungeon a long time ago. Koumei was simply contended that she didn't bother him as he had more than enough work with the preparations he had to make for his departure to Balbadd.

And then there was the bad side.

Lenka would have never expected that she would miss Reim. But she did. She missed the chance to go out and do her grocery shopping in the afternoon with Miran. She missed her study where she would sit down some evening to read, drinking a cup of tea before going to sleep in her comfortable bed. And oh god, she missed Muu Alexius. Somehow he just wouldn't leave her mind, every memory she seemed to have from Reim contained him.

 _I have officially declared you love-sick,_ Foras had grinned when she asked her djinn. The others agreed more or less enthusiastic. Eligos had a giggling fit, Orias tried to become invisible and Orobas looked like he was going to murder the poor man.

 _I am not love-... shit._

Now she was not only officially love-sick but had realized she was in love with him as well. Damn.

 _Well, you could have it worse,_ Foras mused and glanced at Gusion.

 _The Magi kid would have been worse._

 _Which Magi kid? Judar or Aladdin?_

 _Aladdin as in Prince Aladdin? He's here? I have to meet him!_

 _Soon,_ Lenka told her then sighed and concentrated on her mental list again.

There was the next point. Gyokuen aka Arba aka the evil witch queen of the east knew her name and that she was here so she could stay in Kou only for a few more weeks before she got kicked out.

And the third...

"I say the pink one suits her better."

"Are you stupid? It's clearly the red one!"

Kougyoku and Kouha glared at each other, both were holding a kimono to Lenka's face as they were debating what she should wear for her birthday tomorrow. She couldn't believe that she had been for longer than a year and three months in this world but she really would be turning twenty. Time surely flew by.

"I like the turquoise one, but you surely wouldn't listen to me," said Miran from his place on the couch. The four of them plus two maids were currently standing or sitting in Kougyoku's dressing room where the sibling were debating the color of the kimono she should wear.

"Red!"

"Pink!"

"Red!"

"Pink!"

"You should probably name it, Kougyoku-red and Kouha-pink."

"But I say pink! Lenka!" Kougyoku wailed and looked at her friend with big puppy eyes. Kouha did the same and let his lower lip quiver ever so slightly, a trick Miran must have told him in exchange for blackmailing techniques. The day they had met had created monsters.

"Please say red. You would do for me, right?"

Lenka sighed and patted both their heads. They were just adorable when they did that.

"Clad me in every colour you like, decide which is the best and in the end you might decide that layering them is best. It's my fate to be a dress-up doll for red-haired or pink-eyed individuals, isn't it?"

The Rens looked at each other then nodded.

"Deal."

The blonde sighed again and stretched out her arms to receive her punishment. Miran grinned wide at his guardian.

"This is funny. And you'll look pretty."

"Is this your revenge for the curse of porridge?"

"It might be karma," he shrugged with a smile.

"I like it here. Kougyoku and Kouha are nice. And the food is good."

"Heh," the prince smirked while Kougyoku blushed a bit and smiled at the fanalis.

"Thank you."

"Though here is _that_ guy. I don't like him. He smells bad."

Lenka shook her head and Kouha looked a bit confused.

"Who again?"

"Judar."

"Oh," he shrugged and wrapped a obi belt around her waist.

"Yeah, he's a bit strange but funny at the same time."

"I don't like him," repeated Miran.

"I have to glare so much at him I get headaches."

"I can teach you a glare, too," Kouha offered and left it to his half-sister to dress Lenka. He closed his eyes to mentally prepare himself for a second then his face took a vicious and blood-thirsty expression. The blonde felt his killing intent rise like the tide until it hung in the air like the heavy atmosphere before a thunderstorm.

"Piss of, you low-life scumbag, before I gouge out your eyeballs, rip out your intestines and cook a soup from them which I will feed you so you will die in agonizing _pain_."

The boy shuddered then cheered and clapped while the maids tried to hide in a corner far, _far_ away from the prince.

"That was fantastic! The growl at the end was absolutely perfect!"

"I know," Kouha grinned smugly and balanced on his heels before spinning back to Lenka.

"You have good taste when it comes to your followers. But your sense for fashion sucks."

She rolled her eyes.

"That's why I have friends like Kougyoku to doll me up, don't I?"

"I still can't believe you're friends, but apparently you are."

"Hey!"

"That sounds like something Judar would say."

"Nah, I'm somehow glad that she finally has someone besides him who will spend time with her."

"That's sweet of you," the blonde smiled at both of them. Kougyoku glanced at her brother.

"You were thinking about my well-being?"

"Well, duh, she's my sister, right?" he shrugged nonchalantly then furrowed his brows in confusion when she blushed bright red and disappeared behind her sleeves.

* * *

In the end they decided on both the Kouha-pink and Kougyoku-red kimono with a few more white under them and a deep teal colored obi. Lenka felt like she was wearing twice as much as normally, extremely slow and limited in her movement, but she didn't complain as she was sure that both siblings would Extreme-Magic her into the next year if she said something against their choice of clothes.

So she endured being woken up early the next morning by Miran who wanted to congratulate her first and have breakfast, then spending hours in the bath with Kougyoku before getting dressed and having her hair done by Kouha who was adamant on forming a complicated tower with the help of several small needles, sticking one of his sister's pretty pins through it and braiding the strands hanging down. At least she could be sure that she was absolutely gorgeous, and a glance in the mirror confirmed this.

"I am a knock-out," she said admiringly, raised her outstretched arms to examine the flower pattern on the sleeves then grinned at her friend, the brother of her friend who was now a friend as well, the maids and Miran.

"You could make a lot of money with fashion counselling, you know?"

Kouha's boyish grin was really cute in her opinion.

"Of course we could, but the fun runs out after a while."

"Then I'm glad I had the chance to take advantage of that."

Kougyoku giggled openly, much to her brother's surprise.

"And now I can show you around."

"Like, aimlessly strolling around for the world to see my beauty and cower to your feet and beg you to share your divine intuition of what is going to be fashion in the next season upon them?"

"Exactly," Kouha cackled and hopped from his chair.

"I want to show you to brother En and the geezers who thought you were a barbarian from Reim."

Lenka frowned.

"I don't want to impress old men. And don't you dare to drag me into a war council, Kouha."

"Aw, but's so funny if they start choking on their spit."

"I know, but either way I don't want to get shown around like a prized cow, I had my fair share of that already."

Miran handed her Eligos so she could strap the sword to her obi belt. The pink-haired male pouted.

"Your sword ruins the picture."

"Kouha, you know, walking around without your metal vessels is like running naked through a snowstorm. Utter lunacy."

"Have you made this experience already?"

"No, I fought in the Reim Colosseum without a weapon. Not exactly my most intelligent move but I managed to survive with as much as a scar. The others were not that lucky..."

"I want a good fight soon, I'm bored as hell."

"You sound like Judar."

Kougyoku frowned.

"Now that you mention him, I haven't seen Judar for a few days. Where could he be?"

"As long as he doesn't wait in our room again he can be anywhere he wants," Miran piped in, openly showing his hostility towards the Magi. Lenka walked over to her friend and comfortingly squeezed her hand.

"He might have heard of a peach harvest somewhere and is now raiding the orchards. Don't worry, he will be fine. What is there in the world that could stop Judar?"

"You for an instance."

Orobas muttered something about this being the only sign of intelligence that had ever shown and she silently agreed with his opinion. Judar was a bit mad after all. Okay, rather mad. Kouha stretched his arms then kicked the door open.

"Who wants to go and scare some random people?"

"Count me in."

Wearing a slight smile she followed the siblings out of the room, Miran to her left from where he could easily attack or defend, even though she doubted that he needed to. There was no one stupid enough to attack three dungeon capturers in broad daylight after all. Except Judar who landed in front of them with a wide toothy grin.

"Hey, blondie! Or do I have to call you hag now?"

"You are going to confuse us one day if every woman older or younger is 'hag' to you," Lenka answered and smiled back at him and the energetic mass of Rukh he emitted.

"Yeah, anyway, I got you a present!"

"You never got me a present!" Kouha complained and crossed his arms in fake sulking then jumped his Magi friend, or rather attached himself to Judar so he couldn't fly away again.

"Because you're not special."

Kougyoku squeaked behind her sleeves; the ship was sailing, no matter what Lenka, who was now scowling at her, said. She was simply in denial.

"So, blondie, guess what I got you?"

"Easy, that one. A dungeon."

He grinned even wider and clapped in mock surprise.

"My, you are so clever!"

"I try my best. So, which dungeon is it? And where?"

"Gamigin. A few miles northwest from here. Storm djinn if I remember correctly. Or Decarabia? I don't know. Maybe Aim? Häagenti?"

 _Oh, please Amy, Eligos loved teasing him because of the girlish name! It so didn't fit him! Or Häaggy!_

 _Good old times,_ Gusion murmured.

"If you raised all of them in the last few days I know why you were nowhere to be found," grinned the blonde then slightly tilted her head to hear the drop-shaped beads of her hairpin clink together.

"Just not today, I like the outfit too much to get it in a dungeon."

He pouted a bit then shrugged and tried to turn on his heels but was stopped by Kouha.

"Stay, Judar!

"Please!"

Kougyoku joined and in a flutter of robes and flailing limbs they effectively pinned the cursing Magi to the floor which caused Miran to snicker in amusement. He loved seeing suitors – or possible suitors or imaginary suitors – suffer and was happy when he could do his role as first executioner. Leaning back and having others do the job was almost as great. Less work for him, more pain for the suitors.

The arrival of a servant stopped the bickering as the man stopped and bowed in front of them.

"Ambassador, his Excellency Ren Kouen requests your attendance at the war council."

"Oh fudge," the curse escaped Lenka then she nodded and looked pleadingly at the others.

"Can't one of you come with me?"

"I'd like to, but, you see, I'm not a general..."

"I'll stay with Kougyoku! I am underage after all!"

"Hell, no, not the geezers!"

She stared at Kouha until he sighed and let go of Judar who instantly left the ground and rolled around in the air.

"I don't want to-"

"Prince Kouha!"

Another servant rushed in their direction and almost stumbled when he bowed.

"His excellency Ren Kouen has asked for your company at the war meeting."

"Damn."

The Magi cackled while waving at them.

"Have fun, losers. I'll go take a nap."

Kouha glared at the disappearing figure for a second before he gestured Lenka to follow him.

"Come on, brother En doesn't like to wait. Bye, Kougyoku and Miran."

"Ciao ciao," she blew a kiss towards them and laughed when the princess blushed and her household member did as if he would catch it and press it to his cheek. God, he was so adorable. She was so glad that he was her household vessel it was almost impossible to describe.

Despite the somewhat sadistic grin he now shared with Kougyoku.

* * *

The meeting room was filled with a table on which a map was placed and chairs for the old men and war generals. Kouen who was sitting at the top with his household around looked rather bored in her opinion but started smirking when he caught sight of his brother and her in the traditional Kou dress. Koumei nodded behind his fan.

"Kouha, Miss Lenka."

"You actually look decent for once," the older stated bluntly and one or two of the elders snickered. Lenka rolled her eyes and smiled wryly while walking up to him.

"I've slapped people for less, _Lord_ Kouen."

The elders gasped in shock but his smirk turned into a grin.

"I guess that was Sinbad?"

 _Grr, stupid king,_ Orobas murmured. She chuckled and shook her head, enjoying the way the braids brushed over her shoulders.

"For a change it wasn't him, but usually it is Orobas who tries to maim him."

One of Kouens household members, the one with the snake hair snorted and got then whacked on the head by the larger pig man.

"Seishuu, brat."

Lenka chuckled inwardly at this display of the ranking in Kouen's household and took a look at the map. It showed the whole eastern continent and the known part of the western, the territories owned by Kou were marked with metal tiles. The different armies were symbolized by flat pentagons, much like gaming pieces. She immediately spotted Balbadd at one of the southern peninsulas and nostalgia welled up in her. A long time had passed since the revolution.

And then she spotted Magnostadt and a shiver ran up her spine. Kouen noticed her staring at the map and waved his hand at the magicians' country.

"I want to know what Reim will do."

She gave him an incredulous look.

"Anything else I can get you? The moon perhaps? That was sarcasm, by the way."

"I noticed. So?"

"Do you really think I will tell you?"

Some of the elders had become red-faced during their conversation, disbelieving of the fact that someone, moreover, a woman was talking back to Ren Kouen! What a disgrace! One of the generals, the one with the once blue hair and missing eye spoke up.

"My Lord, please pardon me speaking, but why exactly is that woman here? There is a reason why the business of belligerence is conducted by men, not women."

Anger flared up in the traveler and her fingers wandered to the hilt of her sword. That was exactly why she didn't want to take part in this. Kouen briefly raised a brow at the man.

"She is here because I want her to be here."

"Your excellence," one of the elders said, "'tis not my right to criticize you-"

"Then don't," stated the prince and looked at her.

"Judar said you would join our cause and I had the impression you would sympathize with me as well."

"Not exactly. I might be one of his dungeon capturers," at this everyone but the Ren siblings and their households gaped at her, "but I am indebted to Lady Scheherazade as well, and perhaps even more."

 _Muu Alexius,_ Foras hummed in the back of her head with a suggestive wriggle of her brows. Lenka chose to ignore the djinn and to lay some of her cards on the table.

"What I can say is that Reim is prepared to fight. If the order comes I will leave to do my part of the deal."

"Scheherazade hired you?" Koumei asked suddenly, causing her to blink in surprise and raise her right sleeve to her chin to take a thinking position. She had conquered a dungeon and then offered her services to the Magi, thus becoming her king candidate. If she thought about it a bit longer...

"More or less."

"So you are a kind of a mercenary. A dungeon capturer mercenary. A one-person army."

Note to herself: never underestimate Ren Koumei.

 _Noted,_ Orias nodded and scribbled a few more symbols on a scroll.

"That would be the most adequate description I guess," answered Lenka slowly, returning Kouen's stare that became more and more excited and preying with every second. He even sat up to scan her again. And the other persons in the room eyed her with new interest as well now that they knew that she was a dungeon capturer.

"What do we need to offer for you to work for us?"

She shook her head and thrummed on the hilt of her sword.

"It's not like you have a saying in whom I assist. I follow my own path under the guidance of the Rukh towards the ultimate goal."

"I could give you Kougyoku. You like her and she likes you."

"Excuse me?!" yelled Lenka, shocked from how far he would actually go. Kouen shrugged.

"It will be Kouha then."

"Brother En?!"

"That's it."

She pointed on him with her right and he frowned, knowing what terrible things the ring with the red jewel could do to him. He would be first princess instead of first prince for an unset time period.

"You simply _can't_ sell your siblings for power! And how you dare to suggest that I would agree!"

The man tilted his head, an amused glint joined the hungry one in his eyes as he stroked his goatee while some of the other council members grumbled something about her being not in a position where she could tell Prince Ren Kouen what to do.

"I merely suspected that you would join the empire through a marriage contract?"

Orobas, Eligos, Orias and Foras screamed in different emotions ranging from anger to fangirling.

"Get in line, there are others who have asked first," hissed Lenka while blushing furiously so that she matched her kimono.

 _Muu Alexius!_ Foras shouted, always the helpful reminder in situations where she would rather hear Gusion telling her something useful.

… _there is nothing I have to add right now. Except that you could threaten the goatee the next time._

 _Not the goatee!_ pleaded Eligos.

 _Of course the goatee,_ Orobas grumbled and started playing with the sharp cooking knife. In the meanwhile the target of their revenge had raised both brows, his brothers showing similar signs of surprise, as did most of the others in the room.

"No kidding?" Kouha asked disbelievingly and skidded around to look in her face, wide-eyed and absolutely interested in her answer. Almost sparkling with the desire to know just who would want to marry someone like her.

"Really not kidding me?"

The blonde glowered at him but it would take a lot more than that to see him flinch and back away.

"There is a reason why there is the 'Chase the Suitors away from Lenka'-committee. Another comment like this and I'll be going back to Reim and you can look for someone else to let you practice braiding, to loan you more Toran scrolls and... whatever you need, Koumei."

The man scratched the back of his head, a sheepish smile on his face but at the same time a calculating glint appeared in his eyes.

"Everything?"

"I have to precise, something materialistic or achievable with my djinn and not in the political, sexual or betraying people department. No destroying cities until _I_ deem them dangerous."

He scratched his head again and nodded, already planning what his brother would need to reach his goal and what she could do to help.

"I think I will find something."

"You possess _more_ Toran scrolls?" Kouen asked and almost jumped from his chair to walk over to her and stepped right into her personal space. Lenka frowned and took a step back.

"There were some in my house in Remano. Plus I was in a few dungeons, so, well, maybe?"

"Forget Kouha. Marry me."

 _AAAAH! THAT'S It! DIE!_ Orobas yelled and pulled Eligos' potato cannon from under the couch then got tackled by the owner of the weapon.

 _Not the goatee I said!_

Lenka opened her mouth either to scream a very nasty answer at him, in terror or to reply calmly when the door burst open and a black flash raced towards her and stopped in the last moment to wrap his arms around her shoulders. Judar grinned wide at his other dungeon capturer then cooed:

"So the red twerp was right, there was someone hitting on you, blondie. But I have never guessed it would be Kouen. How interesting. You are quite popular, right?"

"Miran told you someone was hitting on me?"

The Magi snickered and pressed his cheek against hers.

"He did, blabbing something about how you are in danger because both of you are being useless right now because of this being Kou and not Reim and so on. So are, or aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm being hit on, impressed that you chose to listen but why were you doing him the favour? And we're not useless, just polite enough not to maim the sexists right now."

Judar started to play with one of the braids, still grinning mischievously.

"Well, twerp promised to ignore my presence because it was your birthday. I get chills from the glares he sends me all the time even before I get even close to you. It's sooo annoying. I might even catch a cold, you know?"

Lenka reached back to scratch his head while smiling contentedly. In situations like this she was more than glad that the Magi was interested in her; he was the best distraction one could imagine.

"So that's why you're using me as portable warmer, aren't you?"

"And pillow."

"Hey, don't destroy the hairdo, I spent hours on it," Kouha yelled and tried to batter the Magi away which led to Judar lifting from her back to float in the air.

"Go away, Kouha. I got her now. Wait until it's your turn again."

She sighed and carefully shook her head then glanced at Kouen who was still looking at her – was he waiting for an answer? Holy Solomon on toast. He was persistent.

"Ah, uhm, no, thanks, actually I'm-"

Lenka stopped when she found no words for him. What was she at the moment?

"Not interested in a relationship."

Was she really?

 _Oh, come on, Lenka, no one can be that dense,_ complained Foras. Gusion seemed to raise a brow.

… _look up dense in a lexicon and you'll find her picture then._

 _Eligos saw her at confused and clueless, too._

Again her djinn were the voices of reason and insanity in her mind, well, only the girls. Orobas and Orias had miraculously vanished to leave girls to girl problems.

 _But Eligos think that Kouen would fit into her predatory-pattern. Red hair, intelligent, family-friendly..._

"Goddamn, Eligos! Don't stare at me like that, try living with three djinn who try to set you up with a guy at every chance they get, one who breaks down and hides in the corner at the mentioning of relationships and one who orders his household to execute the suitors," she snapped at the men in the room who looked at her like she was crazy for suddenly starting to shout at air. Judar broke out in a fit of almost hysterical giggles.

"Is it the pervert?"

"They are all perverts! Okay, maybe not Orias, but Foras and Eligos for sure, and I guess Orobas too. Gusion is a case on her own."

… _glad to know I'm a case on my own._

 _Me too._

 _Perverts have more fun in life, right, Eligos?_

 _Eligos absolutely agrees with Foras._

 _The morals here are really low, because if you are okay with being perverts and everyone else is something must have went terribly wrong,_ Orias mused.

"Yeah, weeell, that was a reason why Sinbad suddenly stopped offering marriage to me after he witnessed what it means to experience pervert hell with Lenka."

The Magi was doubling over with laughter now, much to the confusion of the elders, especially when Kouha and the snake-haired Seishuu joined. The blonde rolled her eyes, crossed her arms and waited for them to calm down again then gave Kouen a small smile when they didn't.

"Life isn't easy for you either, is it?"

"At least I have no executioner committee following me around," he smirked. Lenka shrugged.

"Well, if you have no one hitting on you you don't need one. Poor Kouen, no one wants to marry you."

"You are very confident in your abilities. And I could have a wife if I wanted."

"I know that I'm exceptionally powerful, having conquered five dungeons only confirms that I'm absolutely right when I'm acting slightly megalomaniac."

"Do you plan on building up your own country one day?," Koumei asked from behind his fan. Judar instantly stopped laughing and sat up straight in the air, legs crossed and eyes fixating her.

"Maybe. I don't know. I helped Ja'far, Sinbad's advisor with the official matters, the budget and expenses during my stay there, I'm familiar with how much this is, and then there would be the audiences with the civilians who need my help in judicial issues, not to mention foreign affairs..." shaking her head Lenka took her favorite thinking position with her right hand loosely covering her mouth and the other arm stabilizing the elbow.

"And then there would be the money problem... and where to built. And what to build. And how. And which agricultural system, taxes..."

And her mission was always first.

Koumei nodded in agree.

"I see you have thought about this already."

"Among other things."

"Such as?"

"You know what."

"Me," Judar stated and wrapped an arm around her shoulder again.

"Definitely me. It's easier if you have a Magi helping you. She was thinking about how to convince me to help her."

"Definitely not," Kouha deadpanned.

"Definitely yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes! Forever and ever after! I'm a Magi!"

"As if! You belong to Kou!"

Lenka sighed, rolled her eyes then picked Judar out of the air, hung him over her shoulder and nodded at the princes.

"I'll be removing him now. See you all later, maybe for a drink after dinner? Good? Bye then!"

The door slid shut behind them before the nobles in the room could even blink. Koumei was the first to sigh in defeat.

"She certainly knows how to change topics."

Kouen grunted in agree but the smirk stayed on his face. Now he knew that there was the possibility that they could hire Lenka to fight with them. The goal to unite the world seemed a lot closer with her assistance. He just had to figure out what to offer. His brother would probably know already.

* * *

"I appreciate the thought behind your attempt to rescue me, but wasn't this a bit much?" Lenka asked and licked peach juice from her finger. Judar simply shrugged and plucked another fruit from the tree they were sitting in.

"No, have you seen their faces? Absolutely hilarious!"

"Why do these incidents continue to happen when you're around?"

"Must be your doing."

"I should have introduced you to the concept of bad karma," she murmured and placed the stone on the branch next to her. The setting sun flooded the orchards with warm orange light making the chilly breezes more bearable. A peaceful place, isolated through high walls and gates.

Lenka flinched and thus dodged the half-eaten peach he had thrown at her.

"What the heck, Judar, the dress is worth more than your sorry backside!"

"I call bullshit," he grinned and picked a new one.

"My ass is worth more than the empire."

Her laughter echoed through the silent garden. Judar snickered and flopped down next to her.

"By the way, Hakuryuu is still on his way to depravity. And halfway to Tenzan by now. Didn't you know? He left this morning."

She froze with a peach halfway to her mouth and turned to the Magi who was watching her with a lazy grin. His Rukh fluttered with anticipation, waiting for her reaction. Lenka frowned and lowered her hands.

"That's sad. I liked him the way he was. Kind. Honest. Someone you could put your faith into. And he didn't even tell me good-bye."

Judar chuckled.

"Kindness and honesty won't bring you far in life, you know. Not even you act kind and honest all the time."

"I know. But what do you want to achieve with telling me that? What is your goal?"

The atmosphere suddenly changed, playtime was over now. A strange glint filled his eyes, similar to the mad one she was familiar with. Determination.

"I want to have him fall into depravity to become my king vessel. I want to kill Ren Gyokuen. I want Hakuryuu to kill the hag, dismember her, disembowel her, dissect her, whatever he wants to do. I want to see him tear everything apart, burn the world to the ground so I can dance in the smoldering ruins and laugh at their faces when they realize that we are the ones who have the last laugh."

 _Whoa,_ murmured Orobas.

 _He's insane. As in, really totally absolutely bat-shit insane._

Lenka inwardly agreed with him. So much... anger... and gleeful anticipation couldn't be good for one's mental health. A wide grin had formed on the Magi's face during his little speech and he played with the jewel on his wand.

"Anyway, my offer still stands. Fall into depravity and come with us. It will be awesome for sure!"

Trying to swallow the lump that instantly formed in her throat Lenka looked down at her hands, then at the sky and finally back at him.

"It's not that easy, Judar. I can't fall. I swore an oath. However, I can understand you."

His eyes widened and he leaned forward until he was only inches away from her.

"You do?"

"If I were you I would want to kill Al-Thamen as well," Lenka nodded sincerely.

"Every single one of them. Painfully and slowly. But burning the world... it's such an interesting place. So many things left to discover. So many good things that could happen..."

Judar leaned back and she could see that he was disappointed with her answer.

"You don't understand. Now that's really sad."

"Then what do you want me to say then?"

"That you will fall and stay with me!" he yelled and the black Rukh swirled around him, their angry chirping filled the air with so much pressure that her fingers wandered almost unconsciously to the hilt of her sword.

"I can't. I'm sorry, but I really can't do this for you."

His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I thought you were different from all those fools. I had high hopes for you. Oh well, I don't care anymore."

He started floating and quickly moved away from her and the tree.

"Don't beg for mercy or understanding because you won't get any."

And then he was gone, disappeared in a vortex of depraved energy and anger. Lenka groaned and hit against the tree trunk and flinched guiltily when the wood gave in under the impact and peaches rained down, bursting open when they hit the ground and covering the grass with sweet pulp.

"Goddamn it."

Somehow she was not in the mood to celebrate any more.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading chapter 27! Eventful month for me in the real world, so no extra, but if you want to read something special, please PM me and tell me your wishes.**

 **Oh my God, more than 100 favorites and reviews and 125 followers *cries tears of joy***

 **Thank you all so much!**

 **And now that I have a break from university for Christmas I can write freely again, so the next update might come before January 3.**

 **Don't panic, I will always update on time, there is no way I can stop writing now. The big event is coming up after all! I have a plan. And it's an awesome thing I believe.  
**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	28. Chapter 28 plus omake

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes because I do the correcting stuff on my own and English is not my native language.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 28: Meeting Ronové

"You are going to leave?"

Kouen raised a brow while Lenka nodded in agree. A few days had passed since her fall-out with Judar and Kouha's departure to Magnostadt and since then her mood had worsened to the point where she was sure she would have a mental breakdown if she stayed here any longer.

"Lady Scheherazade requested my assistance, as fast as possible."

Well, not exactly, but who was she to miss all the fun? Plus if she avoided a possible mental breakdown on the way... He placed the scroll he had been reading on the desk to focus completely on her, the cheerful grin and seemingly relaxed stance.

"I see."

"If you want a piece of the cake you should follow Kouha in about a week or so, because I have the feeling that something big will happen."

The brow rose again and connoted her to continue.

"I heard they have huge libraries in Magnostadt, not only about magic but on history as well."

"Are you trying to bait me, Lenka?"

"Busted."

She smiled wide at him.

"Okay, I'll tell you the truth. A little bird told me to tell you to follow Kouha or you'll miss an absolutely epic battle, the opportunity to show everyone who's the big bad first prince of Kou and the once in an age chance to get to know everything you want to know about this world, the past and Solomon."

Kouen was almost drooling after the first part of the sentence.

"Lenka. Don't test my patience."

"Believe me, it's way better when that person tells the story."

They fought a silent staring battle until Kouen leaned back, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"You know how to pique my interest."

"It's not that hard when you spent a lot of time with Kougyoku and Kouha. If you gave them the chance they would start the Cult of Our Mighty Brother Is The Extremest, Most Awesome Badass Ever Alive, short C.O.M.B.I.T.E.M.A.B.E.A."

"Come bite my bear?"

"Or something like that," shrugged Lenka and continued to grin at him.

"But 'come bite my bear' sounds pretty awesome, too."

"Your humor will remain a mystery to me. And I don't want to solve it. It might be better if I don't know what you are actually saying. Good thing I won't marry you."

"Aw, thank you for the nice compliments, _Lord_ Kouen."

He smirked at her.

"We will see each other at the absolutely epic battle then."

"Have a good night's rest before, because this will be awesome. You are going to burn with passion, no pun intended."

"I think I'm beginning to understand why Sinbad banned you from his island."

"He banned me because I didn't want him in my pants, to be precise. Luckily you are not even a quarter the pervert he is, or else you would have to revive Koumei on a weekly base because of the complaints of you molesting females from the age ten to sixty-eight."

Kouen shuddered.

"I should at least try to ban you for causing this mental picture."

Lenka snickered then waved him goodbye.

"Now that's my signal. Remember, I will fry your balls for the sea creatures if you try to marry off my Kougyoku again and have the key to your libraries disappear miraculously in a volcano before they get covered under a diamond shell."

"Just _leave_."

When the door fell shut after her Kouen took the chance to snicker in solitude. Whatever was going to happen in Magnostadt, things would get interesting with Lenka there for sure. Her enemies would be scarred for life and her friends even more. He felt really sorry for the poor guy she was to marry.

* * *

The only problem Lenka and Miran had to face when leaving Kou was Kougyoku who made both travelers swear on their mother's graves that they would visit her again. The blonde was sure she would have no problem keeping that promise; the Magnostadt war was only a few weeks away now and next to the immense nervousness she felt anticipation. You didn't get to battle a thousand or so black djinn and a copy of the big bad evil overlord everyday and she was absolutely sure that they would kick ass, like it happened in the original _manga_.

They had decided to use horses to travel more inconspicuously than usually when they used the flying scarf, but that would take them longer, too. Lenka was sure that an army would move slow, very slow, and expected to catch up with Kouha soon, who had left a week earlier with his forces. The only problem were the horses, but after one had tried to bite Miran and the fanalis snapped back they were surprisingly obedient, sometimes even fearful of the boy.

Even so traveling by animals soon became their second least favorite way of traveling, only outmatched by ships because they were the peak of evil transportation. Foras tried to help them with her cell manipulation but both Lenka and Miran had sore muscles the first three days until they were accustomed to the saddles. At the next village they would sell or donate the mounts and continue by scarf.

But Kou was big and accidentally or intentionally Kouha had taken a straight route through the empire which was extremely uninhabited, even though this made following the army easier for the travelers. The muddy tracks were simply too obvious not to miss and even visible in the light rain as they were riding through a small canyon to get up to the Kanan plains or so the map told them.

"Have I told you I hate rain yet?" Miran said and peeked from under his rain coat at her. Lenka nodded and directed her brown horse which she had called Insufferable around a boulder.

"Yep, around thirty-two times now. But look, I guess this is the way up to the plains."

"Oh joy, so we'll get wind as well now, strong gusts that will get the rain through in an angle which is impossible to dodge."

"You really don't like rain, do you?"

"Absolutely not," Miran scowled and sneezed. She chuckled and shook her head. Sarcasm had become one of his best friends in the past days. He would be a pest to deal with when he hit puberty, certainly always the one to pick a fight and win and really popular with the girls.

But every time she tried to visualize adult Miran she was always seeing Muu Alexius and quickly distracted her with something else.

 _Your inability of planning your love life is becoming quite boring, Lenka. Don't worry, I'm here to fix this,_ Foras said with a grin and pulled a name plate out of her cleavage and placed it in front of her on the kitchen table.

 _Dr Foras' consultation time has begun._

 _Oh holy fudge, are you for real?_

 _Her advice has saved me from being strangled by Dantalion, so I guess it works to some extend,_ Orias told from his place at the stove. The blonde raised a brow.

 _Okay? Interesting._

 _Soo, first of all. My ever-helpful Eligos has told me all the dirty details up until now,_ the fae djinn waved, _so we have to focus on the future now. We know that you will meet him at the battle against the medium and I guess there will be a big reunion afterwards-_

 _Oh Solomon, Foras, can't we postpone this talk?_

 _No, absolutely not,_ Gusion joined the conversation and crossed her flippers.

 _You will talk about this now._

… _have I told you that you are impossible already?_

 _Your love life and inability to talk about it annoy me out of my mind, so we force you to talk about it. Now._

Foras nodded and continued.

 _At some point you will have to talk to him. You will tell him that you were sent to Kou. Got it?_

 _Yes. What can I say?_

 _For example that Kouen tried to marry you but yo declined._

 _He was joking, and there is no way that I would tell Muu about that!_

"Stop right here, you fiend."

 _Exactly, so that's why you talk about your time with Kougyoku first, and that she's a good girl, how caring her siblings are and the peaceful plans they have for the world._

Lenka blinked. Now that was actually...

 _That's a good idea._

 _I know I have good ideas. Anyway, most importantly you have to apologize for not contacting him after you were to disappear._

"Lenka."

 _Yeah, can do that. So apologizing, telling what I did, what their goals are, convincing him that they are good guys, more apologizing – something else?_

 _You should deal with the bandit waiting for you on the road._

"Huh?"

She turned in the saddle and looked down at the slender human holding a bow while looking rather confused and close to desperation. Apparently she had overseen the person in her way and the horse had walked around him or her without even stopping.

"Hey kid, sorry for not minding you. Did you say something?"

The other raised the bow again and pointed with the arrow on her, the long cape fell apart at this move and Lenka could see that the attacker was a girl in a knee-long dress and riding pants, leather boots and gloves.

"I said give me your horse."

Did she just say those magical words? Those words that had a chorus of angels appear behind her, singing heavenly hallelujah?

"You want the horse."

"Are you stupid? I said I want the horse, so give me your horse."

"You're an angel!" the blonde cried and instantly jumped out of the saddle, took her bags, tossed them on her back, grabbed the reins and handed them to the girl.

"A true life-safer. Do you want another horse? Here, we have another horse!"

Miran pleadingly held out the reins of his mount, The Biter – he had demanded capitalization – for the speechless bandit whose left eye-lid started twitching.

"Please take mine as well, I don't mind walking the way to Magnostadt."

The girl opened her mouth but no sound was audible so he wrapped the leather straps around her bow and smiled at Lenka.

"Let's get out of the canyon, the rain is not as bad when we're running, right? Good bye, Miss friendly bandit!"

"May Solomon bless you for your good heart! Live a happy life!"

 _And then I no longer wonder why we are all considered mad,_ Orias mused and waved his fork of pancake in the air.

 _Because your actions seem insane to the ones who don't know your story. This was almost at Judar-level of insanity._

 _She will notice soon,_ Lenka answered and followed her charge who was climbing up the canyon at the speed of sound, so happy was he had gotten rid of The Biter. After a few hundred meters into the big plains they heard an infuriated scream which meant that the girl had finally noticed just what beast she had acquired, causing the two to start laughing like mad.

* * *

Miran spotted the village first; a accumulation of stone houses in the middle of nowhere, a grayish-brown blob in the vast grasslands, but nevertheless, maybe they could find an inn to spend the night there. Camping was only so much fun after all, and even less when it was raining.

But when they entered through the gates she noticed a few odd things about this settlement. First, the high wall and the heavily guarded gates. Usually an indicator that the villagers had to deal with bandits or worse. Second, the inhabitants looked haggard, sad, despaired, something she had seen in Balbadd and Aktia. People had went missing then. Third, and last, the top of a tower that rose from a few miles further to the north.

A dungeon.

"Judar you idiot," she murmured then stopped a weary looking woman.

"Excuse me, but where can we find the person in charge? A mayor or chief or something like that?"

"Chief Hua Bing lives in the house with the Kou banner on the roof. He might be sitting on the porch right now," the villager answered while sluggishly pointing backwards and continued her way. Lenka made a face and glanced at Miran who nodded then walked next to her through the muddy streets.

And once again she realized just how much influence Kou had over it's people and every newly acquired territory: everyone was wearing the same green commoner's clothes like in the capital, here and there were even some brown slaves on their way, but somehow the village was really empty. Some of the houses were undeniably shabby as if the owners hadn't been living in them for a longer period of time and the dampness of the whole place was simply unnatural. Without doubt the dungeon was the cause of this.

The worried frown on her face deepened when they arrived at the mayor's house. An elderly man sat on his porch, nibbling at his pipe and staring in the gloomy rain. Deep shadows were under his eyes when they fixated the two travelers. Lenka bowed her head respectfully before speaking.

"Are you mayor Hua Bing? Could you please tell us what happened here? Despite the Kou army coming through."

The man frowned.

"'t wasn't the army that did that to Hang village. It's the tower."

Lenka hissed understandingly. The Magi really was an idiot.

Hua Bing nodded solemnly.

"It appeared two months ago, suddenly it rose from the earth. Since then it hasn't stopped raining."

She had the strong urge to fly back to the capital and kick Judar's butt to Remano but contended herself with biting her lower lip and looking sympathetically.

"I heard that some of the towers abduct people. Has that happened here as well?"

"... sadly yes," the mayor sighed, "it started three nights after the tower appeared. Since then more than thirty men and women have disappeared and almost as many have moved out to bring them back. Fruitlessly, I have to say."

Miran tugged at the sleeve of her raincoat.

"Sorry to interrupt, but look who's coming this way."

The bandit girl, now rather ragged looking and definitely aware of how devilishly the two horses following her were, stopped in her tracks when she spotted them. Her brown eyes started to sparkle and with a furious yell she pointed on them.

"You!"

"Oh, the angel who accepted our horses," Lenka exclaimed and waved, just to see if she could make the other puff steam out of her ears.

"The insane blonde and the twerp!"

"I don't think I should be grateful any longer," Miran mused and wriggled his fingers before closing them around his household vessel but lowered them when Lenka signed him not to act so threatening.

"Looks like you found out why we gave them to you so easily. On the other hand, you were not that much of a danger to us."

"Kang Shun Ra," the mayor said and rose from his chair to cross his arms and stare at the girl.

"What have you done this time? No, I don't need to hear your answer. Give them the horses back and then go to your room."

"No, please keep them," the dungeon capturer said and raised her hands.

"We were thinking of selling them in the next village anyway. And we don't need payment, but we would be very glad if you could tell us everything that has happened after the dungeon appeared."

"Dungeon?" the girl asked with distrust. Hua Bing furrowed his brows.

"Shun Ra. I thought I had given you an assignment. Bring the horses to the stable."

"Whatever. Come, you beasts," she murmured and pulled the animals away. The mayor sighed gravely then bowed slightly.

"Please excuse my niece's rudeness. Her mother was one of the first to disappear and her father went missing when he searched for her."

"No problem, I'm used to deal with this kind of people. So the constant rain and people disappearing. Anything else you noticed? Strange men in long white dresses and masked faces carrying staffs?"

"No, but why are you asking? Are you-" his eyes widened when he realized what he was gong to say.

"Are you insane?"

"Lenka is not insane," Miran stated and took a step forward. Hua Bing looked even more shocked.

"You can't perhaps think of going into that tower! That's suicide!"

"The last five didn't kill me, so why should this one?"

Lenka grinned at his gaping surprise then her expression softened.

"We'll do our best to find survivors and bring them out. A dungeon is no place you should entered unprepared."

"Unless you are us."

"Unless you are us," she repeated the fanalis' words with a nod.

* * *

The rain got stronger the closer they got to the entrance of the dungeon and after a while the coats were so wet and chilly that they were no longer a shield against the water. For the twelfth time in twice as many minutes Lenka cursed Judar for setting up the tower this close to the village. If this djinn was similar to Zagan they would have a hard time conquering it and the closer they came to the building the more nervous she got. Miran catched her mood and turned into a hyperactive fanalis yo-yo before calming down to the point where his steps were almost inaudible, especially when they climbed up a slippery staircase to the portal that would bring them to the real dungeon.

"And here we go again," she sighed and smiled at the boy.

"I bet this will never get boring."

"Ditto."

They stepped into the portal, blinding lights flashing around the travelers before they were warped though the dimensions and landed in the dungeon. A dim room with one dark green door greeted Lenka when the blur of the teleportation subsided, the air was cool and humid and a faint thrum vibrated through the brown tiles of the floor. Luckily Miran was in the same starting point as she this time, head cocked to the side to listen to the noises.

"I can hear peo- _entities_ moving somewhere behind the door."

"Alright," nodded Lenka, unsheathed her sword and opened the way to a corridor further into the dungeon. The warm pulse of the metal vessels wrapped around her like an armor, impeccable if she wanted it to be, and certainly terrifying. Nothing could hold a candle to her if she decided to go on a rampage.

"It smells like decaying bodies and leaves," he informed her, his fingers tightly gripping his brass knuckles. Whatever was waiting for them would be a nasty surprise, but they were prepared. She inhaled deeply when a two-winged gate came into view.

"Ready?"

"When you are."

Lenka chuckled dryly and pushed open the door, but the sight of what was inside made her blood freeze in her veins. A party, a loud, raucous feast, the people were eating, drinking and seemed to enjoy themselves greatly. There was only one problem:

All of them were dead. Rotting corpses, horrible wounds on them, missing limbs and eyes and what else one could miss if he or she had been turned into a zombie. Well, at least she knew now what had happened to the villagers. Unlucky fellows. Upon their entry the whole zombie army turned around to face them, their low groans becoming louder and louder as they caught their scents. And then the first undead took a step forward. Instantly he and the ones next to him were engulfed in bright white flames when Lenka started the elimination process.

"Don't let them bite you, or you will become an undead like them. The head is the weak point."

"Okay!"

Miran began to pick up broken chair legs and throw them at the zombies but was soon out of hurling material. He then broke pieces out of the floor and dropped them on the undead while Lenka switched her djinn and used Gusion's crystalline spears to get work done. After a while the waves of fresh zombies lessened and after three minutes or so the whole chamber was filled with now really dead zombies. Just to be sure they weren't just playing dead she set every corpse on fire as they carefully walked towards the exit.

"Well, that was rather anticlimactic," the boy commented with a shrug and dropped the rock he was holding on a burning corpse.

"Kougyoku and Kouha taught you more words?"

"Mostly Kouha. He's great! If you were a man you should be like him."

Lenka faked a gasp, pressed her hand on her cleavage and stared wide-eyed at him.

"You didn't just say that you like him more than me, did you?"

"No, I would never say that!"

"Just kidding, I like him, too. He would be a nice brother for you, but then again I think I'm collecting quite many siblings for you to spent time with."

"And I'm sure I will like them all, even the ones I haven't met yet!"

Giggling she opened the door to the next room and suddenly they were standing on a foggy graveyard. A round full moon illuminated the stones and the dark castle that was built on the edge of a cliff.

"Great, now the only thing we need is the scary background music and then the monster can arrive- Miran?"

Lenka searched the scenery for the familiar red hair then murmured a curse; apparently the djinn of the dungeon had decided to separate them. Somehow this was starting to get annoying.

* * *

Miran sighed and stared at the wall through which Lenka had just disappeared. Seriously. If it wasn't so exciting he would start to hate dungeon conquests by now.

His ears catched a hushing noise, a rustle of cloth. He whirled around and raised his fists, prepared to deliver a crippling blow to whoever or whatever moving behind him and stopped, surprised from what he was seeing. The bandit who wasn't a bandit yelped and raised her bow, two arrows nocked on it.

"Stop right there!"

Miran rolled his eyes and used his superior speed to jump behind her and press his fist in her side, a threat and good position to break her spine if she did as much as flinch.

"Why are you here? This is no place for children."

"You are one to say, midget," she snapped back.

"I've helped conquering two dungeons before. How many have you?"

That had effectively silenced her. Now the bigger problem was that she was still here in the dungeon. Miran bit on the inside of his cheek while thinking. He couldn't simply leave her here, so there was only one way to deal with the issue.

"Promise not to run away?"

"As if you could catch me."

The boy snorted and stepped away from the girl to stare at her. Funny how oblivious she was. The only persons who could outrun him were adult fanalis and on some occasions Lenka when she was really running away from something, like Kougyoku and a new dress.

"As if you could survive here without me. The only way to get out is to conquer the dungeon, and for that we need to find Lenka. I wouldn't mind if you died, but she would think bad of me if you really get killed.

So? Stay and get killed or come with me. It's your decision."

He was really glad to have met Kouha who had given him a crash course on threats and ultimatums and how to use them in which situations next to five different kinds of sneers and glares to accompany them. The girl frowned at him and he noticed that her brows were rather small, almost drop-shaped. She looked like a fox or like the seal babies they had once seen during their travel by ship.

"... alright. Lead the way."

Success! Miran maintained his indifferent expression and looked through the room.

"We need to find a way further into the dungeon first. You should keep your bow ready. I don't know what will come next."

"But you said you have been-"

"Every dungeon is different. Are you always this annoying?"

"You are annoying!"

"I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

He was about to repeat his words again then shook his head and turned to the wall through which Lenka had disappeared. Another door had grown out of the floor and waited for him and the annoying not-bandit to enter.

"So, do you see this door?"

"Is there something wrong with your eyes?" she scoffed and the thought that he was better off without her came to him again.

"The dungeon can mess with your mind, have you seeing illusions and get eaten by monsters of which you think they were your friends and family," he explained slowly as if he was talking to a child, just to annoy her. His efforts were not in vain, she scowled even more and rushed past him to open the door.

"Don't treat me like a child, I'm fifteen!"

"Sure you are, bandit girl."

"My name is Kang Shun Ra, remember!"

"Shura it's then."

"Shun! Ra! Not Shura!"

Miran grinned. Kouha had been a great teacher.

* * *

Lenka shivered in the chilly air and continued her way towards the castle, but the thrice-damned graveyard was larger than she had expected. She had stumbled over graves at least four times now and had kicked against the first so hard Foras had to readjust a few toes, which hurt like hell followed by the feeling of pins and needles and the urge to kill something.

And then there was nothing to kill! The only things fluttering around were a few bats in the distance. Bats were cute, especially the fruit-eating ones. Pointy noses...

The blonde frowned and gripped her sword. Somehow this bats were a tad too large to be cute. No, bats the size of retrievers were not in the least cute. Definitely not.

The little run-in with the bats was followed by another zombie attack which she annihilated with a few blasts of Gusion's spears, hungry monster trees with glowing eyes that burned really well, more zombies...

She was almost glad when she reached the gate of the castle, the heavy doors opened without her pushing and someone pulling form inside. Lenka sighed. Somehow this was way too much like the setting of a C-ranked horror movie, in which the busty blonde heroine would separate from the group to find the bathroom and then the killer with the big ass ax/chainsaw/kitchen knife/ or the hungry snake monster/wraith/vampire count/whatever would come out to slaughter her. She could almost feel the presence of something creeping up to her, thus she whirled around to stare at the empty path up the mountain.

 _Orobas, a sign from Miran?_

The djinn was silent for a few moments before he spoke.

 _The familiar is somewhere out in the dungeon, I have problems pin-pointing his location._

 _Didn't this happen in Eligos and Foras already?_

 _The density of Rukh is higher in dungeons and you know just how hard it is to find him in your normal world already._

 _Point to you._

Lenka scanned the entrance hall, but the only potentially dangerous thing in here were the long dusty curtains that were pulled back to show an old portrait of a woman, the wide staircase to the upper floor and the rusty chain holding a big rusty chandelier. Eight closed doors, identical to the grain and the handles. Her steps left trails on the dusty floor, the planks creaked under her weight.

"Let's see what we've got here," she murmured and opened the one that was on the far left. The dim light from the entrance hall did not much to illuminate the chamber she was looking into, but after a few seconds she realized that she was looking into a lab room. Shelves stuffed with glass containers preserving every kind of organ, limb and animal, surgery instruments on a table next to a operation bed...

She closed the door again and used her sword to scratch an X mark into it. There was no way she would go inside, there was probably some kind of angry ghost inside that would start throwing things at her or worse.

A shiver ran down her spine, the feeling that someone or something was with her in the main room got stronger. And still there was nothing visible to the naked eye, but the Rukh were fluttering nervously, a sign that the dungeon was preparing a nasty surprise for her.

Lenka gripped her sword tighter and opened the next door. A library. If she was Kouen she would run inside to look for scrolls and finish the monster without even looking and a growled "don't stop my reading."

 _You would need a goatee,_ Eligos mused.

 _Anyway, choose whoever you need from us if the need arises._

 _You bet._

A whispering as if the hem of a dress was dragged over the floor disturbed her inner conversation and she turned around slowly to face her opponent. The rotting corpse hovered a few inches over the floor, the black robes were tattered and threadbare, bones were visible through the tears and holes. An unholy purple light flickered in the empty sockets as the undead grinned at her and raised the claw-like fingers.

" _Blaze!"_

The white flames simply rushed through the entity without causing damage so she quickly jumped to the side to get some distance from it.

 _Is that a ghost?_

" _Space distortion!"_

Several black holes appeared and tried to suck the thing into another dimension, but this didn't work as well, the undead simply started floating towards her, hands raised as if it wanted to scratch her eyes out. Lenka blocked and concentrated on the symbol on the sword until her eyes started to burn and the blade turned into a metal gauntlet similar to Gusion's forearm protector.

" _Submission stare."_

 _Eligos got the wraith. You can control it freely now_.

"Please do an Irish jig."

The spirit hissed and then seemed to dance, or an action similar to a dance, actually it was just whirling around in small circles and waved it's limbs.

"Amazing."

Now she had a pet wraith. Time to use it to go into the rooms first.

* * *

Swamps had risen another place on the list of things Miran really, _really_ despised and ranged under rain now. Kang Shun Ra had jumped ranks quickly as well, even though she had stopped her nagging and bitching in favor of a sneak attack to eventual enemies. The slight fog over the area was actually good for him and the girl, they couldn't been detected unless they were too close but then he would have spotted the opponent already. Despite the feeling he had received earlier from her Shura's shooting was pretty decent, if not good, he seriously had to admit that.

She was still annoying.

"How long will we have to walk through this bog? I can't smell a thing any more," she complained and poked a batch of moss with an arrow to see if it was firm ground then slowly lowered her foot on it. Miran rubbed his nose and sniffed. Another thing he didn't like at her: the belief she was the only one suffering and that no one had it as bad as her. He was the one with the superior senses, _he_ had it worse!

On the other hand this made him feel much older and mature than ten years of some sort, which was very good. Time was strange when you were in dungeons, he was sure he had had his birthday in Foras'.

"As long as it continues," he answered nonchalantly and jumped over the watery surface to a dry spot then scanned his surroundings. The bats had come closer again, despite the ultra-sonic death threats he was shouting now and then, and that made him uncomfortable. They were bigger than normal, their eyes gleamed red and some of them had foam dripping from their fangs. This ones launched attacks at the others, that was probably the only reason they hadn't found him and Shun Ra yet. At the moment five were close enough to shoot, or so he hoped, with another three attacking them.

He gestured her to stop her whining and pointed at the animals.

"Can you see them?"

"Better, I can shoot them, too. God, it's a miracle to me how you have survived if you are this useless, twerp."

"The foaming first, Shura."

"Duh. Don't call me Shura, twerp."

The only good thing was that she could switch into hunting mode and be completely silent. Swiftly she pulled several arrows from the quiver strapped to her back, stabbed them into the moss, nocked three on the string and pulled. The low hum of the projectiles came too late for the targets to dodge, they fell into the muddy water like stones, but the others had detected them and shot towards their small island.

Miran inhaled and launched an ultra-sonic attack that made them falter, the girl fired another two arrows, but one only grazed the bat that dove at her, long fangs bared and hindlegs in front of the body to claw Shun Ra. That was when he decided to join physically and kicked the animal out of the way into the swamp. Using the centrifugal force to spin around, jump up and crush the others in a single move was a bit tricky but the outcome was more than satisfying: her jaw dropped similar to the bats, but they had no chance to dodge the bog.

He landed on a broken tree and grinned at her.

"Still a miracle how I survived?"

"How – what? Just- just how did you manage to jump that high?!" yelled the girl and waved the arrow she had been about to nock on the bow. He shrugged and hopped back to her, fully aware that the distance he was covering was not one a normal human could jump.

"I'm a fanalis. We are awesome like that."

Apparently Shun Ra was so shocked by his sudden display of strength that she couldn't even manage a sarcastic reply when he turned and chose a new path through the reed to get them out of the swamp.

"Freaky."

* * *

Lenka used her wraith to enter the next room and directed it through an obstacle course full of falling spears, traps and arrows fired from dark corners until it reached a dead end. Smiling a little when the ghost came back, looking a lot more ragged than before, she thought of the other dungeons she had conquered. It had been a long time since she had entered one this difficult, it was actually kind of flattering that the djinn thought of her as capable of surviving multiple death traps, monster assaults and riddles.

But it made the conquest a time-consuming business.

"Three down, five to go," she told the spirit, marked the door and opened another. Eligos' power was really handy. Luckily she was the one to get it. She didn't even want to imagine if it had been another person to get hold of it, for example Sinbad or Hakuryuu...

 _Those are the best examples you can come up with,_ Orobas murmured.

 _Of course. This dungeon looks Halloween-themed to me, doesn't it?_

 _If I knew what Halloween was I would agree, but I do because I think you are right._

 _Gee, I missed chatting with you. It's been a long time since I was sent to your dungeon._

 _Good old times,_ Orobas sighed.

 _It was a lot more quiet in your mindscape._

 _I think you're the only one who believes that._

Lenka smiled when he started to deny everything and focused on the ghost. It's presence was a constant hum in the Rukh and thanks to them she could give the spirit more orders if needed. It had floated through a tunnel and into another chamber that would have been empty if not for the large black coffin placed atop of a crumbling staircase.

She scowled.

"Do you think it is what I think it is? No way in hell is there a vampire inside. Oh holy fudge please not."

A giggle escaped her and before Lenka realized she doubled over with laughter. Somehow this was just getting more and more insane. But then again insanity was part of her daily life. She then urged the wraith to break a wooden plank from the floor, sharpen it to a stake and open the coffin. Inside was a pale man whose eyes snapped open in surprise before the ghost impaled him on the stake; he collapsed and turned into a silvery heap of dust.

"Yes! Lenka, the apprentice vampire slayer! I'll so add this to my introduction!"

 _Oh Solomon,_ Orias murmured.

Handy was becoming an understatement for Eligos' manipulation power but it needed a lot more control than her first three djinn's powers. Maybe that was a reason why she had struggled so long trying to master the equip. Lenka stared at the wraith and debated whether or not she had to kill it now and if, then how she should do that. It stared almost as calculating at her until she sighed and directed it to the fourth door.

Another big space behind it, a city in ruins. Smoke rose from the remains of the houses, the sky was gray and had a sickly yellowish tint. A former war zone that was surely filled with uncountable monsters. Oh joy.

 _Eligos!_

The djinn nodded and the wraith froze up while the weapon equip faded. Before it could find its victim Lenka had jumped through the door and pulled it close, inwardly doing a small victory dance. Hopefully the thing would stay behind the door.

She turned around to scan for possible enemies and when her eyes found none she tried to search the Rukh, something that had gotten more and more difficult lately. Monsters, monsters, monsters, giant snakes, giant spiders, skeletons, angry spirits, hidden behind walls, under the floor, in the puddle on the other side of the street...

 _Oh joy._

 _Let's kill stuff,_ Gusion murmured.

 _Let's kill stuff, let's kill stuff,_ Orobas chanted and Eligos and Foras joined happily, while Orias shook his head in defeat.

 _I don't care anymore. Let's kill stuff. Maybe some of them have swallowed money accidentally.  
_

 _I think you have converted to Gusionism now. I'm so proud of you._

"Well, what is there more to say? Let's kill stuff!"

* * *

And as if on cue a two-headed hydra skidded around the corner, hissed gleefully when it saw her and began spitting globs of poison slime. Lenka evaded and drove her sword into its torso and sliced cleanly to the hearth side. Smiling she pulled the weapon out and set the body on fire then turned to the monsters that had begun crawling into the street while she was busy.

"Who of you want's to go next? Ah, well, doesn't matter. Come at me!"

Miran frowned when the familiar told him that Lenka was fighting. This was not exactly what he wanted to hear, especially since he was still stuck in some kind of dark spooky forest with Shun Ra being the only company. At least they had left the swamp behind them, and almost everything was better than bog.

But then they met the pumpkin. A pumpkin with a face. A grinning face. Something had went terribly wrong during its growth.

"Just tell me where my parents are!" Shun Ra screamed at it as soon as it had introduced itself and asked if it could do something for them. The pumpkin grinned and rolled to the side.

"No thanks, little girl. Let me give you a riddle first."

"I don't want-" she started but Miran kept her shut.

"We'd like to hear the riddle, thank you Mr Pumpkin."

The grin widened.

"Clever kid. Sooo, the riddle... … ..."

Shun Ra shuffled around behind him as the pumpkin stopped in mid-sentence and continued to grin at them.

"I forgot."

"What?!" she exploded, pulled an arrow from the quiver and attempted to stab the vegetable that escaped by jumping and rolling around her.

"Now that is not nice, little girl. What if I remember it but die because of your sharp weapon!"

"Tell! Me!"

Miran rolled his eyes and picked up the orange nuisance when it passed him.

"I am a fanalis, if you know what that is. Tell us what we want to know or you can say your puny existence good bye. I'm counting to ten. And then I'll crush. And then we are going to have pumpkin soup for dinner."

"Gross, as if I want to eat that thing!"

To quote Lenka, fudge.

"Thank you for ruining my threat, it would have worked out perfectly," he grumbled then shrugged and added a little pressure to the thing in his hands.

"Now then. One. Two. Three. Fourfivesixseveneight-!"

"Stop! Stop! I know something! Just stop!"

"Aw," Miran complained and grinned at Shun Ra who stared at him with wide eyes and open mouth. She had underestimated him again.

"Talk. Where is the way to the treasure room? Where are her parents? And where is Lenka?"

"Okay, okay. Jeez, you are not funny, kid. So, no riddle. In about two miles south from here is a ruin city. Somewhere in there is the gate to the last room before the empty city. Her parents... might be dead already. Or undead. Either way they won't leave the dungeon again."

The girl's lower lip started to tremble.

"Liar. They aren't dead."

"It said 'might', a possibility, not certain," he murmured before shaking the pumpkin.

"And Lenka?"

As soon as the question left his mouth a tremor shook the ground, followed by a gust of wind which smelled like smoke, blood and ozone. Miran dropped the pumpkin and started running towards the cause of the earthquake then remembered Shun Ra was not in the least as fast as he was, turned back to pick her up and carry on his arms, an action she commented with a surprised squeak.

"Hold on."

The squeak turned into a scream as he zigzagged through the trees at inhuman speed, jumped over boulders and tree trunks and even a dry river bed, outbalanced the next earthquakes and dodged the shock waves and the trees that were uprooted by the force and came flying at them like compostable missiles. And she was screaming all the way and tried to strangle the life out of him.

* * *

A thick layer of smoke billowed over the ruins, huge craters in the streets told the story of a violent encounter, as did the remains of countless dungeon monsters, zombies, stains and smoldering carcasses, and what else had attacked Lenka. Shards of greenish crystal stuck from the ground like the stumps of trees, puddles of red, green and yellow made the cobblestone slippery and disgusting. The smell was even worse. Burning flesh, chitin and hair.

When they had left the forest and sprinted towards the abandoned settlement more tremors shook the landscape, flames erupted now and then and caused white flashes to flicker over the the dark skies but now it was quiet, as if every sound had been absorbed by the dungeon.

"What happened? Everything is so... desolate," Shun Ra whispered, several arrows nocked on her bow, ready to fire them any moment. Miran inhaled slowly, taking in the different smells, tasted them before exhaling with a sigh.

"Lenka happened."

As if on cue a wall crumbled and collapsed into a pile of rubble and dust. Shun Ra flinched.

"Holy hell. Just how strong is she?"

"Very strong. But she wants to get even stronger."

"But why?" she asked incredulously.

"She is, like, a force of nature already!"

"Now you know how strong our foes are," Miran replied a nonchalant shrug. The girl gulped and gripped her weapon tightly as they continued their way through the ruins. More dead monsters, more craters, more crystal shards, until they arrived at the market place. Their jaws dropped at the sight that waited for them: a pile of defeated enemies, frozen in a green crystal shell and the familiar figure sitting atop of a spike. Lenka grinned down at them and waved lazily with her djinn weapon, Gusion's sword-lance.

"Hey there. I doubt there are enemies left for you to maim."

"The pumpkin didn't want to talk," Miran replied with a wide grin and hugged her when she jumped down and strolled over to them. She blinked once then nodded and ruffled his hair.

"I see. I became apprentice vampire slayer."

"Did he sparkle? You told me about sparkling vampires."

"Unfortunately it was inside, I don't think he did."

"Aw."

"Can't you concentrate on the most important thing? I still haven't found my parents!"

The fanalis groaned and turned to Shun Ra who was standing a few feet away, her cheeks were flushed an angry red and her fist was shaking. She was clearly not in the mood for more vampire jokes so Lenka simply nodded again and turned to point at the ruins of a large building. The front was almost intact but the roof had broken down after what looked like a meteor impact.

"I got the information that the path further into the dungeon is through the church's crypt. Alas, there will be-"

"Then what are you waiting for!"

The girl started running over the plaza while Miran sighed and shook his head.

"She's a nuisance. Never listens to what others tell her. I hope that's not contagious."

"I figured out as much," Lenka nodded and followed her, suddenly reckoning that it was maybe not the best idea to have Shun Ra enter first. A thought that came a moment too late, she had already pushed open the huge door and stepped into the darkness of the room behind.

The banks had fallen over, been thrown into the corners and broken, buried under tiles and the wooden balks, colorful shards of the glass windowpanes littered the pieces of the floor that hadn't collapsed into the hole where once the altar stood. An unearthly green light flickered inside and illuminated the undead turning around to the three living beings.

Lenka felt the urge to facepalm. As if the girl hadn't come this far without noticing just what kind of place a dungeon was!

"M-mother?"

The whisper was barely audible over the groaning that started when they caught their scent. Miran leaned to the right and grabbed a large stone, waiting on her command.

"Father? It's me, Shun Ra."

The girl took a tentative step forward and the zombies were on the loose.

" _Crystal prison."_

The green substance instantly covered the approaching danger and froze them in place. Shun Ra's scream of panic turned into a desperate wail as the corpses of her parents stopped moving and rushed towards the prison, banged against the crystal and screamed their names. Lenka exchanged glances with Miran then slowly walked up to the crying girl and carefully touched her shoulder.

"There is a chance that they will return to normal. If we make it to the treasury."

The other's face distorted into an angry grimace.

"It's all your fault! Your fault that they are like this!"

The blonde flinched; the girl had a point there. Technically it had been Judar who had raised the dungeon but the Magi had done this solely to impress, please, whatever, for both their selfish reasons.

"You are right. That's why I'm taking responsibility."

Then she picked up the struggling kid, gestured Miran to pick up her bow and follow her down the crater to the colossal door with the eight-pointed star on it.

* * *

"Open sesame."

The door to the treasury opened and Lenka strode in confidently, searching for a pedestal until she found it and touched the stone trident placed on it. Shun Ra, who had been forced to walk on her own after entering the Necropolis of the dungeon, yelped in surprise and reached foran arrow when the djinn emerged. Miran on the other hand watched with mild curiosity how the granite heaps in the room turned into gold and jewels then concentrated on the djinn.

"WHO IS IT WHO WANTS TO BE KING?"

"That would be me," Lenka said and calmly faced the blue giant hovering over her. He grinned wide and showed sharp, jagged teeth, a trait he shared with many other djinn. Looking fairly human, albeit with the ears of a bat he raised his hands, palms upwards, and so showed his long nails and the metal ornaments in the form of autumn leafs on the back of them.

"Very well, female, I am Ronové, twenty-seventh djinn, a spirit of servitude and harvests. Yet there is another candidate I could deem worthy of becoming my master."

"I don't want to be your master! Turn my parents back to normal!"

Ronové didn't even raise a brow at Shun Ra's shouting and continued.

"Thereby I demand you two to show me your servants."

"Huh?"

This time he didn't ignore her.

"So?"

Lenka gripped the hilt of her sword.

"Miran is not my servant. He is my brother, my friend, someone who is important to me."

The djinn's three eyes wandered over to the small fanalis who returned the glance with the blank, calm fanalis stare then raised a fist to show the brass knuckles. Ronové nodded.

"A red lion. And the loud twin's household. Predictable."

 _Hey, it works just_ fine, Orobas growled.

"I'm still growing, thus learning. And I don't care what you say, you had talking pumpkins in your dungeon."

"That was really weird," Shun Ra agreed, then noticed her words and blushed a little, apparently uncomfortable that she had the same opinion as the boy. The djinn sighed and leaned back to watch the three humans standing before him for a few more seconds.

"Alas, I have heard many interesting things from the others. You have come quite far, female. You realized your mistakes, know what you can do and can't do. You have connections. Now the only thing you need are more servants. And those I can give to you."

Lenka nodded.

"Fine. My name is Lenka, the traveler, dungeon capturer, apprentice vampire slayer, guardian of the Magi and Solomon's warrior. Nice to meet you, Ronové. I guess you can teleport us west when the dugeon closes?"

The djinn inclined his head.

"Now then, west it is."

"Wait! My parents!"

"Well, as long as they are more or less unscathed I can turn them into humans again. Alas, that won't be the fate of the ones slain, but those are the casualties. They will return to the place where the dungeon stood."

Shun Ra's eyes watered again and suddenly she hugged Lenka who was about to call upon Orias' power to collect the majority of the treasure.

"Thank you! Thank you! I don't know what I would have been doing without your help!"

"Dying, surely painfully and in vain," Miran murmured while the dungeon capturer smiled and patted the crying girl's head.

"There, there. Everything is alright now."

She nodded and let go of the tall woman to glance at the boy.

"And thank you too... I guess."

Ronové cleared his throat and clapped his hands.

"Well, before we indulge ourselves too much in gratitude I will proceed to close the dungeon. Dungeon capturer, this left earring of yours will suit my purpose just fine. Now, to west you go!"

And the dungeon disappeared in a blur of colors.

* * *

Lenka blinked up at the sun then looked around. The air was very humid, tropical plants grew behind them while she could see a city built into the walls of the ravine they had landed upon. Miran sat up and inhaled deeply then furrowed his brows.

"There are birds. They are far too big to be normal birds. They are carrying people."

"Just where are we now? Where are my parents?! It's all the fault of you insane people!"

 _Oh, was the girl not a companion of yours, my queen? Now, that is a big mistake on my behalf, I'm truly sorry._

"Sorry, doesn't cut it!"

Far east twelve villagers looked around and wondered if they had been having a strange dream involving zombies, sparkling vampires and talking pumpkins, then realized that they were standing at the bottom of a deep square muddy pit and had several large bags filled with gold and treasure with them.

Truly, a very strange dream.

* * *

 **Those of you who have been waiting for the second part of the omake from a while ago, here it is! Enjoy!**

* * *

Three-way wager (Part II)

Foras chuckled devilishly and scribbled another name on her list, as well as the age and likes of her newest conquest. Lazing on her bed she counted the number again. Fifty-seven females. In two weeks. And from different species, too. Even though she had to tell at least eight of her bet with Orobas and Barbatos, but those eight girls had been very understanding.

"Kick their asses, darling!"

"Good luck, and please come by and tell me that you've won."

"Whatever you win, can I get a piece of the prize?"

And many of the other forty-nine had become her friends, not as in girlfriend but in friend-friend. Life was pretty nice to her at the moment. Now where should she go this evening?

A knock on the door interrupted her musing but Foras didn't mind. Hopefully it was Eligos who brought her some more information on the cutie in the fae tribe...

She blinked surprised at Orobas grinned wide at her.

"Hey, can I hide in your house for a few hours?"

Foras blinked again then waved him inside when she felt a nearing killing intent which felt very familiar.

"Okay, hide in the kitchen. And then you tell me what happened."

"God, you're a life-safer," he whispered and rushed into the direction her finger pointed. She heard the clatter of a chair being pulled around and something rustling, maybe the curtains or the tablecloth and giggled. Whoever he had angered, he had made him or her very angry.

The killing intent was almost overwhelming right now then suddenly died down before someone knocked. She opened and grinned at Focalor who tried to look not intimidating and blood-thirsty, but the club he tried to hide behind his back spoke a language on its own.

"Hello Focalor. What can I do for you on this beautiful day?"

His meaningful glance was almost hilarious due to the fact that his hair was in disarray as if he had run a long distance very fast while swinging a club and accidentally hitting himself with it.

"Maybe some information, dearest. Have you seen something interesting in the last minutes?"

"Besides an Orobas running as if the wrath of Focalor was directed towards him, nothing much. I was rather distracted at the particular moment."

"So? What distracted you, little flower?" he smirked and tried to lean against the doorframe.

"The fact that he was not in the least afraid and yelled something about not interested in your approaches and the laughable size of your club, probably not the one you try to hide behind your back. He went west, by the way."

"This...! Thank you, Foras, if you would excuse me now, I have to club someone to death."

Giggling she shut the door and waited a few moments before walking into the kitchen where she found Orobas in fetal position under her dinner table, the cloth pulled down to hide him. Luckily the furniture was rather big or else he would have had a problem, being taller than eight feet. He grinned happily at her when she lifted the white fabric.

"Thank you so much, I don't know what would have happened to me if he found me."

"He would have clubbed you to death," Foras deadpanned and kneeled next to him.

"Just what did you – hold on, I know that sheepish grin. Did you try to flirt with his harem girls? You know that they are off-limits, do you?"

"I know. Now."

His reaction made it almost impossible to scold him, she thought. Must be the freckles.

"So, how many did you approach?"

"Every single one of them, all twenty-three," he proudly admitted.

"You didn't have to do that, they are all mine already."

"What!?"

Foras cackled devilishly.

"You know, he flirts with girls. I am a girl, or female, whatever. And as the pervert he is he enjoys some girl on girl action."

His eyes widened until she feared they would fall out of the sockets.

"Whoa."

"Don't tell anyone."

"You are _awesome_. Want to go grab something to eat with me? My treat."

She raised a brow while trying not to grin like a complete idiot at him.

"I don't think I'm conquerable, Orobas."

"What would happen if you were? Would you have to forfeit?"

They stared at each other like two big cats, waiting for the other to make the first move. Foras smiled lazily and dropped the tablecloth on his face.

"Get out of there, pretty boy. I'll be back in a few seconds."

* * *

Eligos grinned wide and rubbed her hands together at the memories her spy sent her flooded her mind. The fly had followed Orobas from Focalor's den through the alley to Foras' place and inside. And then she had focused her will on him and asked her friend out. From there on it would be child's play.

She had read him the first time they met, when Foras introduced the male to them. The gestures, the glances, his body language, how he reacted to her words and so on. He was clearly interested.

"Eligos."

Ah-uh. The fae turned around and grinned sheepishly at Gusion who had sneaked up to her. Maybe the rooftop of the warehouse in this district was not such a great spying place, or for an outburst of mad genius laughter.

"Hello Gusion? What can Eligos do for you?"

"I have made a bet," the jackal-seal hybrid said gravely and the fae tried not to roll her eyes. As if that was something new.

"Foras has to win."

Eligos maintained her poker-face but danced inwardly. Money on the way to her!

"How much?"

"Enough. The usual amount?"

"The usual amount. Who bet against you?"

"A few."

"Something else?"

"No."

"Consider it done, partner," Eligos gave the other a thumbs-up. Gusion nodded again and turned away.

"Good luck."

* * *

And so the competition continued, in a very interesting way. Barbatos tried to make girls fall for him, as did the other two. But then Orobas turned his focus towards Foras who in return continued with her mixed strategy of innocent approach, truth and shameless flirting. Gusion widened the betting pool by forcing some of the other tribe leaders to join as well to get enough money to pay Eligos who helped Foras without her noticing from the shadows next to her main project.

Dantalion and Orias.

They were working on something big apparently, together with Ugo and a few other human magicians. They were slowly getting closer, much to her joy – there were not enough happy couples around, even though some did their very best, like Sheba – and they looked cute together in her opinion.

Until the incident where Orobas had taken Foras out for another date – he said it was one, she protested, whatever, date – and Dantalion had seen them and confused the twins. Which led to a lot of screaming, chaos and death threats, just like Eligos loved it. Or would have loved, if she hadn't bet half of her loan from Gusion on them becoming a couple. Now the jackal/seal/whatever got her money back and the sum would only increase in a few minutes, as Foras, Orobas and Barbatos met at the deadline to see who conquered the most.

"Eighteen," said Barbatos with a confident smirk and crossed his arms after holding up a small list with names. Orobas grinned and held up his own notepad.

"Twenty-four."

"Damn. So it's my loss then – except Foras has done something completely un-Foras-ish."

The female maintained her deadpan expression and opened her pad. A page unfolded and dropped to the floor and the others gaped at the list that was almost as long as she was.

"Eighty-six individuals, both male and female, their hobbies, ages, likes and dislikes as well as, " Foras grinned smugly, "their preferences. Me."

"Holy master, teach me your ways!" Orobas yelled and attempted to worship the ground she was standing on while Barbatos grabbed the list and paled more with every name.

"Hold it, why are we on the list as well?"

"Why do you ask, isn't it obvious?"

* * *

Vinea sweatdropped at the piles of money in front of Gusion that were still growing with every better that gave her the input.

"How many more are left?"

Gusion smirked and unrolled a list even longer than Foras', causing the other tribe leader to sweat even more.

"I... see..."

"Never bet against the house, Vinea. Never."

It took the others decades to figure out why Gusion was always winning, and even then they had no evidence to prove that she was using Eligos, who was now entrusted with the mission to search for a girlfriend for Ugo so that the other could win the bet against Solomon.

Until today she has yet to find someone who is willing to do so.

* * *

 **Happy New Year! May it be a good one!**

 **Next update will be on January 17, the last one before the Magnostadt War! Yay!**

 **Thank you all so much for the support! I'm absolutely amazed and addicted to your response to the story. Worse than chocolate, really.**

 **Reviewers! Sorry that I haven't answered (at all), there was so much stuff to do and see *cough* Star Wars *cough***

 **Gadget boy: He he, no need for despair at the moment. Fortunately I'm a sucker for happy ends. There will be one.**

 **Guest who reviewed on Dec 21: mah, not really. Kouen figured out how insane Lenka is and decided to remain a happy bachelor. One of his better desicions I think...**

 **Kanri: Was this question directed to me or others? As for me... please bear with me not announcing yet.**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	29. Chapter 29

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes because I do the correcting stuff on my own and English is not my native language.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 29: Meeting Yunan

"Solomon damn it, Ronové, where are we?"

 _West, as you wished, my queen._

"And how far west?"

… _far west?_

 _Idiot,_ Foras groaned and the other djinn agreed with her. Ronové pouted.

 _Why do I have to share with you? The girls are okay, but the disaster twins?  
_

 _Because we met her earlier,_ Gusion deadpanned.

 _She likes us more than you?_ Orobas offered innocently but with an unholy glimmer in his eyes.

"Great," Lenka grumbled and squinted in the blinding light. Hot, humid, they must have been transported _very_ far west. A quick glance at the city down below assured her that this was not Sindria, but probably a member of the alliance. Or maybe a southern province of Kou?

She sighed then stood up and brushed dirt from her pants, checked if she had all of her metal vessels with her then if her companions were alright. Miran had a few smaller bruises, but nothing serious, and continued to stare at the birds. Shun Ra on the other hand was crying in frustration again.

"It's all your fault!"

"Oh, shut up," the boy suddenly growled and pointed accusingly on her.

"We haven't asked you to enter the dungeon! You saw what things happen in there! And then you claim it's our fault if you are too stupid to wait like the other villagers! It's not in the least our fault! And there you go and say such thing while it was us who saved you from dying multiple times!"

"Miran."

He scrunched his nose and looked up at Lenka.

"It's not like I'm wrong, is it?"

 _He is not wrong, how could he be wrong, he is my household member._

"No, but there is more to that."

She kneeled down to talk face to face with Shun Ra and explained who she and Miran where, how the dungeon came into appearance in the first place and what had caused their teleportation. At the end she looked deep into the girl's dark brow eyes.

"Don't worry, I promise I will bring you back home, or to any place you wish to be, as soon as the Magnostadt war is over."

"Magnostadt war?"

"The magician's country close to Reim's border," Miran said and looked up at the sky.

"They are at war, or the war will start in a few days, two weeks at most. Time is strange in dungeons."

"Indeed," Lenka nodded then pulled the girl to her feet who let it happen.

"Let's get into the city, get something to eat, buy a map find a place for the night and tomorrow we will fly... to Magnostadt, or Remano, depends on where we are."

Shun Ra sighed and rubbed her eyes then took her bow and strapped it to her back. Apparently she had decided to stick with them, endure their company and survive long enough to return to Kou.

"Then we go."

The others exchanged glances before Lenka took the lead and walked towards the ravine, following the giant chasm until she found a broad staircase down into the city. After the first twenty steps a platform opened and two female guards with long spears and face tattoos stopped the three travelers.

"Halt. What is your business in Artemyria?"

"We are on our road to Remano," she lied smoothly and inclined her head towards Miran who blinked innocently at the warriors.

"My brother and cousin wanted to visit the dark continent and then we decided to take a detour to see if the giant birds of Artemyria are really as big as the rumours say they are."

One of them, she had an abstract feather pattern on the right side of her forehead, smiled at Lenka.

"Come to think of it, yesterday another person with this bright red hair passed the gates. It was strange, she carried a barrel on her back and seemed to listen to it."

The other guard sniggered.

"There was a guy with a green hat sitting inside. Claimed he was uncomfortable with wide spaces. He was really pretty, though."

"As in, we couldn't even say if he was a man at first."

Lenka started to grin.

"Miran, you might meet one of your big sisters today, if it's the duo I think it is."

"You know them? What a coincidence!"

"Fate, I believe. So, can we pass?"

"Sure, good luck in finding your sister!"

"Thanks," she laughed and waved at Shun Ra to follow them. The Kou girl was clearly surprised just how smoothly they had entered a kingdom that was at war with her own home country. Lenka on the other hand started to look more at the Rukh, searching for a point to which all of them flew towards. But seriously, what Magi was hiding in a barrel? Maybe Yunan had developed agoraphobia after living in a wooden hut at the bottom of the Great Rift for centuries.

Looking around she marveled at the kingdom and how the buildings, so similar to the nests of a swallow and with Dorian pillars and arches at the entrances, were carved from the walls on both sides of the ravine. Thick ropes were spanned over the chasm and the river flowing at its bottom as perches for the birds that were easily big enough for two or thee women to ride.

The Alliance and the trade with the other countries had left an impact on the matriarchal society. A stone bridge connected the two sides where the merchants were selling their goods and the official ensign flapped lazily in the breeze. Maybe they had Sindrian food here?

"I would kill for a bath," Shun Ra interrupted her stream of thoughts. Lenka shuddered and looked down at her clothes which were not exactly the cleanest after she had fought a horde of dungeon monsters.

"Mhm. Let's ask if there is a bathhouse around."

The citizens of Artemyria kingdom were really friendly, probably because she looked like one of them. Blonde hair, slightly tanned skin, good, her irises were not pink, but she was most importantly, female. These traits were most likely the cause why they had been able to get inside in the first place or so she suspected, but she wouldn't complain.

Almost two hours later the three were clean, dressed in fresh clothes and had eaten lunch at a cheerful street vendor's stall before visiting the merchants again, as they were the best sources of rumors and information. It turned out that the armies of Reim had already dispatched to the eastern continent.

"This is suboptimal," Lenka growled and kicked a pebble out of her way then looked at the Rukh. No sign of a Magi.

"Why are you complaining, everything seems fine to me," Shun Ra asked and waved her hand at the ravine and the giant birds.

"She's angry because the most epic war is about to begin and she's not there," explained Miran and patted the dungeon capturer's arm.

 _Aw, poor thing,_ Ronové giggled. Orobas sneered at him.

 _Just for your information, it is a battle between the country of Magicians, the empire of Kou, Reim and Al-Thamen as they have given the magicians the technology to form a Medium for him who is the father of the fallen, and finally, Prince Aladdin and his king vessel._

 _Oh. Holy fuck._

"Exactly," she agreed and shook her head.

"The most epic war in history up until now, and I'm sure Lady S has tried to message me and ask just why the fudge I'm not there to kick some serious backside."

"Well, that sucks."

"We know. Hey, look at that, Lenka, Shura."

"My name is still not Shura!"

Miran pointed onto three kids using sticks to play drums with the barrels of a merchant. One of the barrels seemed larger than the others, ropes were wrapped around the upper part of it and thus it seemed distantly like a backpack. A fourth kid was just leading a guard to the strange container.

"Oh, fudge. That's our signal, kiddies."

"Hey!"

The guard used the tip of her spear to open the lid and Lenka was already close enough to hear what they were saying.

"What are you doing in there?"

"Hiiiih, it's rude not to knock before entering!"

The lid snapped shut again. A vein pulsated on the forehead of the female warrior and she was about to open again when the dungeon capturer stopped her.

"May I, Miss guard?"

The woman shrugged then nodded. Lenka kneeled down before knocking against a plank.

"Who's there?" a muffled voice asked.

"Lenka."

"Lenka who?"

She felt the urge to facepalm.

"Marlene-Karen Sensenmacher, apprentice vampire slayer, ambassador of Reim, accidental and intentional djinn master and probably a honorary sister to at least-"

The lid flew away and she got hug-tackled by the person who had been sitting inside.

"Waah! There was someone or something who drummed on my barrel, and before that I lost Morgiana and then the barrel was taken away!"

Lenka rolled her eyes and rubbed the back of a sobbing Magi.

"Hey there, Yunan. Geez, stop crying you big softie."

His lower lip still trembled when he looked at her for the first time then he smiled wide.

"So we meet again. How's Gusion?"

"Rather well I think."

"Oh, that's fine, I knew you would survive her trials, as far as I know you are someone we can place our faith in."

"... yeah."

The guard cleared her throat and stomped her spear on the floor.

"You know this... person?"

Lenka and Yunan both blinked at her.

"... sort of, or so I think. He's the teacher of one of my adopted sisters."

"She's my wife."

Miran, Shun Ra, Lenka and the guard froze for a second. Wait. Did the old Magi really say that word? Had he become senile after – how many times had he been reborn in his body? At least three times too often.

The Artemyrian caught herself first and smiled brightly at Lenka who fought hard not to lash out at the man in her confusion.

"Ah, I see. But why did your husband hide in a barrel?"

"... he's got major agoraphobia and feels safe in narrow dark spaces. A childhood trauma," she 'whispered' and rubbed the Magi's back who in return snuggled against her shoulder and sighed dreamily.

"My wife takes good care of me."

 _What. The. Heck,_ Orobas said. Foras giggled.

 _I wonder what your other suitors might say to that._

 _Oh fucking shit._

Eligos giggled perversely and Ronové's eyelid started to twitch nervously.

 _What is this situation?_

 _Welcome to the nuthouse,_ Gusion and Orias said in unison and exchanged an high five.

"Well, it doesn't look like you are dangerous, but please refrain from hiding in other barrels than your own," the guard winked and walked away. The children exchanged glances and then raced away to search for another place to play.

Lenka blinked again then shook her head. That had been strange for sure.

"Well..."

"Lenka?"

She looked up at the person calling her name and smiled wide.

"Mor! Dear Solomon, you have grown!"

The fanalis girl instantly rushed forward to hug the life out of her friend who hugged back almost as enthusiastically. Yunan rubbed his head as he had flinched back to not get caught between them and had fallen against the empty barrel where he suddenly had to face an irate Miran.

"Since when is Lenka your wife?"

The Magi broke out in nervous giggles, especially when the boy raised his household vessel, an eerie white and blue light enveloping the metal.

"Exactly, and I as the head executioner of the 'Chase the Suitors away from Lenka'-committee am not very happy right now. In fact I have just received the order to test your worth, Magi or not. So?"

"Eep. Little Morgiana?"

The addressed girl looked up and tilted her head then her eyes widened almost comically.

"Fanalis?"

Miran nodded and grinned wide at her, Yunan instantly forgotten.

"Hi, I'm Miran, Lenka's household member. It's nice to meet you, Morgiana. Can I call you big sister?"

In the matter of five seconds the two redheads became almost inseparable.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Shun Ra said slowly and pointed at Yunan.

"That... person... is one of the most dangerous and powerful individuals of the world."

"Indeed he is," Lenka said and took a sip of her wine. The five had decided to switch locations and discuss in a more remote place, in this case a table in the far back of a bar. The chance of tame birds listening was a bit too high outside a building, and you could never know to whom the animals was reporting to. And despite now being early afternoon the place was well-visited, with so many customers talking that their own conversation was almost impossible to overhear.

The Magi smiled and blew at his tea.

"Thank you, Lenka, dearest."

Miran's left eyelid twitched dangerously.

"You are not married to Lenka. I refuse to accept that you are married to my big sister."

"And you two red-heads are members of a species that is superior to other humans in physical strength."

"... and smell and sight," Morgiana added calmly and petted her new brother's head who in return offered her one of his meat buns before rolling his eyes at the girl from Kou. Somewhere between their introduction and now the fanalis had exchanged as much information as possible, without the others even noticing they had been talking. Lenka found that very strange and mildly confusing.

"You have seen what I was able to do in the dungeon, didn't you? And big sis Mor is much stronger than me. Much much stronger."

Shun Ra gulped.

"Right. And blondie, I mean Lenka is a dungeon capturer, like King Sinbad."

"Only better, and only half as perverted as her."

"But I believe twice as crazy."

"Please, you haven't even met the man. He's close to the definition of womanizer."

"I have read his books!"

"Trust me, he's nothing like he presents himself in his books. And neither is his household."

"I agree with that, they are all good kids," Yunan hummed and placed his cup on the table.

"We are going to meet Queen Artemina later this afternoon to speak with her because of the war."

Lenka groaned and rubbed her temples.

"I'm supposed to be there already to deal with the invasion, but thanks to Judar and Ronové we got teleported here instead. Lady Scheherazade is going to be pissed, and then Aladdin will end the war and Mogamed or whatever the old guy is called will launch black djinn at Kouha and then he will loose control over whatever he uses to spawn them, thanks to Titus, the medium will appear and we are going to fight for our lives and then Scheherazade will die, Titus come back to life and Hakuryuu will fuck us all over."

"Language, and don't forget the fanalis corps will be there as well," Miran chirped while Morgiana furrowed her brows.

"Hakuryuu will do what?"

"Oh holy fuck, I totally forgot that."

The blonde banged her head against the table and ruffled her hair in despair.

"What am I going to do with the probably and then perhaps not boyfriend of mine, if he is, and maybe he doesn't want to, and what should I do if he wants? I can't have children yet, I'm still too young!"

Yunan hit her with his branch slash staff then poked her side with the tip while lifting his cup at the same time with the other hand.

"Breathe, Lenka, and then remember where you are."

"Right. Artemyria. Right. Oh Solomon, what a disaster."

"And the worst is probably yet to come," he agreed with her and sipped his tea. Shun Ra shook her head and looked at the two fanalis.

"How come you aren't as insane as she is?"

Mor slightly tilted her head to show her confusion while Miran cheerfully answered:

"We are accustomed to it, so it doesn't really matter any more. And what she said made sense as well."

"It did?"

The boy nodded.

"Absolutely. You just don't know the whole story behind it."

"And you do."

"Indeed. It's a very confusing, hilarious and devastatingly ironic one."

"Huh."

She leaned back to go over what she had heard up until now then turned to Lenka.

"What are you going to do now? It's not like you can teleport to the Magno-whatever, right?"

"Why not?"

She raised a brow and glanced at Yunan who laced his fingers while thinking. The Magi looked far younger and more feminine than she had thought. Some could have mistaken him for her brother, or for her pretty younger sister at the first glance. If that wasn't a boost for the self-esteem...

"If I provide a bit of the _magoi_ , could you teleport us to or near Magnostadt so we could stall them a bit longer before you and the Alliance arrive?"

He nodded slowly.

"I could. However, I want a bit more information before. Don't you think you are getting a bit distracted from the goal he has given you? I am of course aware of how hard it is to fulfill the quest."

"Maybe," Lenka sighed and played with the ring on her right hand.

"I really hadn't expected to become so popular nor did I want to built myself a reverse harem. It just kind of... happened, you know? Uh, probably not."

"Oh, I do, Lenka, I do," Yunan agreed with his right eye twitching nervously. She was sure that there was a certainly interesting story behind that, but now was perhaps not the ideal time to ask him about this trauma. Instead she nodded and continued.

"Well, I did do something, how much this will influence the future is written on another sheet. I still have some aces up my sleeve though. Negotiations between Kou and Reim will be much easier now that I have met all the leaders and dungeon capturers. Sinbad on the other hand... he wrote a letter with many nasty lies about me to Scheherazade who is my current employer."

"I remember Sinbad being not very happy when we came back from the conquest of Zagan, but I had assumed that it was because Judar attacked and forced you to conquer a dungeon with him."

"That's only a part of the story, Mor. He frequently thought of me as a spy of Kou and double agent. Do you remember that time in Balbadd when I went with Kougyoku and Judar to treat his wounds? And his reaction when I came back to the hideout?"

The girl nodded, a dark presence seemed to appear behind her and a strong feeling of danger washed over the other people in the booth.

"I do. And he did that again?"

"Yes, he did."

The presence darkened even more until Yunan poked the girl with his staff and disrupted the horrible image forming in the shadows.

"Stop, bad Morgiana. No scaring friendly people in the open."

"... I'm sorry, Yunan."

"No harm done."

"I already don't like him, even though I've heard the stories of his dungeon conquests as well," declared Miran before finishing his meat buns.

"As if a twerp like you would ever meet King Sinbad," Shun Ra snorted and crossed her arms while leaning back in her chair. The boy grinned cheekily at her, one cheek stuffed like a chipmunk.

"As long as I am part of Lenka's household I will, small or not."

"... I stayed at his palace for a bit more than half a year, together with Lenka, Alibaba and Aladdin."

"F – wha – for – for free?"

Morgiana nodded at the girl whose jaw was close to touching the floor now.

"... we were invited to the parties as well. We were his guests after all."

"Like I always tell people, there are no parties like Sindrian parties. Reimian parties are a close second, but the last left a rather bad taste in my mouth."

 _Don't dare to say a word, Foras._

 _Hmp. Spoilsport._

"So, Yunan, are you teleporting us yes or no?"

The Magi nodded slowly and finished his cup of tea.

"I think yes, but we have to speak with Queen Artemina first. But then I could get an array ready to get you to the western continent to stall time until we get there."

Lenka and Miran nodded while Shun Ra looked at them in confusion and then growing anger.

"Are you really going to have him teleport you to a _war_? Are you really that unreasonable? The kid is like what? Seven? Eight?"

"Ten, and I chose this lifestyle. I chose to follow Lenka wherever she would go, to protect her, to help her, to be there for her. That's what I do as friend, brother and part of her household."

The blonde smiled warmly at him.

"All right then, Shura, why don't I take you with me to the war? I have promised to get you home safely after all, and if I drop you at the Kou army you should be far away enough to not get a face full of black djinn foot."

The girl flinched and a look of horror appeared on her face.

"What? You are insane, there is no way I would go into a war zone!"

"Funny that you said it, I remember you begging me to get you home, don't you too, Miran? So, do you want home or not?"

"Yes! I want to go home," Shun Ra yelled, drawing the attention of the other patrons to her and causing Lenka to grin smugly.

"Well, if you have a better plan you should now follow my lead, or else you will be stuck in a ravine for Solomon knows how long."

"You can't do that, right?"

"Oh, she could, but if you're polite and lucky she wouldn't," Miran said and smiled wide.

"It really depends on how much you annoy her."

"... I agree with that."

At this point Kang Shun Ra had decided that fate did very, very cruel jokes.

* * *

The sky was tinted pink and lilac when the Magi, his student, Lenka and her companions met outside the city on the firm ground outside the ravine and close to the jungle. The dungeon capturer had taken the opportunity to buy rations, maps and a second quiver of arrows for Shun Ra, who reluctantly accepted the gift. Whether she would engage in combat soon or not, it was always better to have spare equipment at hand. Continuing this thought she purchased a leather belt with a golden clasp if one of her metal vessels was to break.

Watching the color of the clouds turn from light pink to deep red and then violet was strangely comforting, Lenka decided and looked at the path from where they had ascended. She stood up and smiled warmly at the two figures appearing at the edge of the ravine.

"She agreed?"

"It took her a lot of consideration," Morgiana replied calmly and set the barrel down. Yunan shrugged and hopped from his staff then walked to a patch devoid of grass, poked it with the tip and nodded satisfied.

"Nevertheless she will come to our aid. So, what can I do to assist you?"

"Oh, not much, not much."

Muttering incoherently he started scribbling runes and symbols in the soft earth, occasionally scratching his temples and pushing his hat back. Lenka watched him for a few seconds then stepped next to Morgiana who smiled a little at the Magi's antics.

"I met Alibaba in Reim. Saw his first fight in the arena."

"How was it?"

"Horrible. All I wanted to do was jumping down and beat his opponent – a Maurenian baboon – into a pulp."

"..."

"He bought it from his prize money. That thing is creepy."

"I second that," Miran said. Shun Ra scrunched her nose as if she tried to remember or imagine what a Maurenian baboon might look like, then decided better not to and inspect her new arrows again.

"That's typical for Alibaba. Always seeing the best in people..."

"He wouldn't be Alibaba if he didn't."

"... Miran said there were many fanalis in Reim."

"Yes, quite a lot, though not all of them are pure-bloods," agreed the blonde, ignoring the startled "There are more of them?" from Shun Ra's general direction.

"Yeah, and they are really strong, and there is always a brawl going on with the corps! It's really funny!"

Lenka shivered unwillingly. The direction this conversation was going was not ideal...

"Are there any hot guys? Don't look at me like that, I am a girl after all!"

 _Oh Shun Ra, no..._

 _We should keep her, simply because of the utter embarrassment,_ Ronové chuckled and Gusion tilted her head in agree.

 _We should indeed._

 _Solomon, NO._

"And I'm a boy. And much too young, as Lenka always reminds me. Hey, did you see any hot guys in Reim? Lenka?"

 _Fail,_ howled Foras while Eligos rolled over the floor, giggling like crazy. Lenka sighed inwardly. This was what would be her demise. She could walk without any extra weapons into a dungeon, bicker with kings and evil witches, kill a thousand monsters, no problem at all. But if it came to topics like this...

She scratched her temple and avoided to look directly at the kids.

"I... do think so?"

"Aw, come on, details! I live in a village, I see the same people every day!"

"You know, you are acting out of character."

Shun Ra gaped then blushed bright red.

"I do not, you weird crazy lunatic blonde!"

"But at least you know your synonyms."

"Argh!"

"... she has evaded the question," Morgiana said surprised. Miran nodded sagely.

"She did. I feel this is going to be perfect blackmail. The curse of porridge will never befall me like this."

"... … okay."

"I'm done," Yunan stated smugly, petted the two fanalis' heads and smiled at Lenka.

"Please get inside the circle."

She nodded and carefully stepped over the lines he had drawn, trying not to destroy the runes he had set up for the magic to work, and smiled at the symbol they created. The same symbol that showed her armor, weapons and jewelry were not simple objects, but metal vessels containing djinn, the eight-pointed star in a circle, a symbol of power and impossible feats becoming possible. Miran followed her, as did Shun Ra, the latter muttering something about insufferable people who had done their worst to destroy her life.

The Magi nodded then waved at the three.

"We will meet each other soon again."

"Just don't take a detour but come straight to the battlefield, Yunan," grinned Lenka and waved at Morgiana.

"Ciao, Mor."

"Bye, big sister!"

The girl waved back, a happy smile and blush on her face. Yunan raised his staff and the blonde felt a tug on her _magoi_ then a draining sensation while the runes and lines around her started to glow white. Excited Rukh fluttered around them as the magic concentrated even more, pulses of light shot to the sky – and then the three were gone, in a flash and with a boom as the air filled the spaces the disappearing bodies had left.

Morgiana sighed and glanced at her mentor.

"I hope you didn't send them back to Kou."

"I would never do that, absolutely never," the Magi said cheerfully and started to float in the air.

"We need to get back to the coast, Morgiana, the army of the Alliance is waiting already."

"... I figured we wouldn't have gone back to Artemyria only for you to drink tea."

"But it was funny, right?"

"It certainly was nice to meet Lenka again. But did you have to call her your wife?"

"That was the most funny thing!"

He sighed and shook his head at her deadpan expression then sweatdropped as if he had remembered something important.

"Back to the coast, Morgiana. We are late."

"..."

* * *

Wherever they had been sent to, it was night there. Lenka blinked a few times to get accustomed to the change of blinding white to deep, silky midnight blue. A city rose up from the ground miles away from them, a blotch in the dark.

"Okay, let's go to the city and see what we can do."

Miran nodded and yawned but started to walk nonetheless. Shun Ra grumbled, picked herself up and followed him then looked at Lenka.

"And what do we do?"

She shrugged and concentrated on the Rukh, watched their lazy flutter – and then they dispersed and were replaced by depraved ones, barely visible in the night. They were streaming towards Magnostadt as if there was a beacon of some sort for them.

A vibration as if from a small earthquake shook the landscape, then another. Then it was quiet again, except from the chirping of the Rukh and a few stray crickets in the grass.

But the feeling of dread, the strange pressure in the air...

Lenka shuddered and looked up at the sky to see several black figures, darker than the nightly sky shooting towards a point to the left side of the direction they were walking, radiating despair, anger and the loss of all hope.

It had started.

* * *

 **And cut! Chapter 29 done!**

 **First of all, thank you for your support up until now! I'm still in awe how many people read my story :)**

 **Sadly my exams period is going to start and I have to fully concentrate on university, so my writing time is absolutely nonexistent until the end of February *unless you want to take my tests for me and write my assignment ;D***

 **This is just a mere obstacle, but I will return with the sparkles of awesomeness, the power of chocolate and the knowledge that I won't have to repeat any courses – or so I hope. And plot. A lot of it.  
**

 **Nevertheless, if you have questions or comments on the story or requests for an extra, please review! I really want to know what you think!**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	30. Chapter 30

**Bang! Guess who is back?**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far and some spelling mistakes.**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

 **Thanks to Curlyfr13s now with 130% less grammar and spelling mistakes!**

* * *

Day 30 Fighting the Medium

Shun Ra gulped when a feeling of dread gave her goosebumps. She looked up at the starry sky then at her companions.

"What was that?"

Lenka didn't answer immediately, her gaze was fixated on something she couldn't see, far, far in the distance.

"Miran, Shura, get to the city and help the magicians save as many as you can. Don't risk your life doing something stupid. You might be safer there until Yunan and the Alliance arrive, we will probably direct the fighting away from the civilians."

The boy next to her nodded then wrapped his arms around the blonde while the girl frowned at the word 'probably'.

"Don't you dare die, Lenka."

"As if something like this would kill me," she chuckled, pecked his cheek then gave Shun Ra a short hug as well, before handing her the white scarf.

"You will need it more than me, I believe."

The feeling returned, causing Shun Ra to look up, and this time she could spot several black figures shoot towards the east, where just minutes ago a white light had flashed.

"Lenka, really, what is this?"

The woman sighed and rubbed the biceps rings on her left arm.

"This is war."

And then she disappeared in a flash and a wave of heat that pressed the grass down in ripples. The girl blinked surprised then looked up again at the two white stripes that crossed the heaven, then at Miran who had started stretching his arms and legs then jabbed the air a few times.

"And what's wrong with you now?"

"I'm going to fight, obviously," he answered with a flat stare that made her blood boil, simply at the complete obedience that was going to kill him! Shun Ra wasn't sure when she had started caring for the strangers she traveled with, but they had been nice to her. Really nice.

"You know that you are going to die, don't you?"

"You will first if you don't follow me," he replied with a shrug and the feeling of attachment disappeared and was replaced with annoyance.

* * *

"Hey Alibaba, nice get up," Lenka greeted one of her surrogate siblings. Alibaba nodded his greeting back and she had to squint because he was wrapped in bright, hot flames and the rising sun behind him turned her friend into a yellow, red and orange ball.

"Yeah, finally got my full equip. You know what's happening?"

"Magnostadt, black djinn creation furnace, cooperation with Ithnaan, you know, the same as usual."

"Aladdin told me the same."

"So you know it's the end of the world if we fail?"

Alibaba nodded again then narrowed his eyes when the army of Kou came into view, or to be more exact, the three black djinn standing on a giant scythe, trying to get past the barrier that was Ren Kouha and squat the vanguard flat.

"I take those, you the other four?"

"Of course."

And then he shot forward with even greater speed, cutting off the legs of his targets in one fiery swipe while Lenka engaged the others. Orias' power was interesting to wield, the black holes she could create worked like drains and pulled in everything attached to them without fail. Struggle was futile, even for the black djinn as they were sucked into a pocket space, another dimension or whatever was on the other side of the hole. She didn't really want to know at the moment.

 _The immense pressure in there will crush them and I can bring the Rukh back into your own system,_ the djinn offered and Lenka almost fell from the sky when despair and anger and guilt and black hit her like a sledgehammer, her vision blurring and contorting while the voices of depravity screamed in her ears. Her eyes throbbed madly and the sheer pressure on her chest made breathing hardly possible.

"Slow down!"

Immediately the stress lessened, the noise turned into a dark hum in the back of her head and the world was sharp again, showing her that more djinn had appeared, twenty, thirty... a lot more than before. An almost blinding light to her side caused her to turn away from the enemy and towards Alibaba, holding the smaller version of Amon's sword over his head where the white circle of forming extreme magic had appeared. Noticing that Aladdin was close to him Lenka lowered her altitude – and grinned when a white flash from behind the army felled the closest three djinn.

Kouen and his household had arrived and started the counterattack.

 _Kouha is hurt,_ Foras spoke up and directed the dungeon capturer's glance to the small purplish white and lilac figure on the ground. She nodded and landed next to him, canceling her djinn equip in the second her feet touched the ground. The prince's eyes widened while his magicians slash fangirls huddled closer to him.

"Lenka?"

"Shut down the equip, Kouha," she smiled then turned towards the carnage Kouen's household caused under the black djinn. The man himself landed in front of the army, stepped from the carpet and walked towards his brother whose right arm was swollen and tinted in different shades of purple, red and blue while the palm was twisted in a direction that was normally impossible.

Kouha bit his lip and lowered his head before addressing the first prince, his voice a pained rasp.

"My brother and king... please forgive me, I volunteered to take the vanguard and... caused a great loss..."

Kouen blinked then unsheathed his sword and pointed on his brother's injury.

"Heal, Phenex."

The pendant dangling from the hilt glowed and an astral creature, similar to a bird, appeared, illuminating the forms of the two before it sunk into the bruised skin of Kouha's arm. The cuts disappeared with the swelling until the limb looked unscathed again. As soon as the glow faded the magicians and Kouha started bowing and thanking the man, who nodded shortly and began ordering the vanguard to retreat into the mountains to join the rest of his army.

Lenka smiled at Alibaba who had landed on the ground, having canceled the extreme attack to to the interfering of the transformed Kou household members. He nodded at her then stared at Kouen's back until the man turned around and faced him. It took a few seconds before the fiery armor faded and together with Aladdin he walked towards the older man.

* * *

Miran and Shun Ra had almost reached Magnostadt, using the flying scarf to overcome the distance at a faster speed, when the influx of visible black Rukh stopped and a tremor shook the ground. Looking down the boy could see that the plaza in the middle of the city cracked then broke, similar to a lizard clawing its way out of the egg shell, and a giant dark ball rose from the hole, countless giant eyes staring at everything moving in the vicinity.

"The sky!"

The clouds formed a maelstrom, and from the eye of the hurricane black tentacles descended, wriggling as if they wanted to connect with the sphere. Despair overwhelmed the people on the ground when the black Rukh streamed around, their songs magnifying the effect even more. A pillar of pure evil shot upwards from the orb of darkness and illuminated the world in a light of impending doom.

And somewhere far in the distance the witch queen wept in joy as the entity she called 'father' prepared to descend on the world again.

* * *

Lenka wanted to introduce her face to her palm for a longer stay. Typical Alibaba, blubbing out his name before everything else. On the other hand this was a way to intimidate people, but not if you had no country and thus no military or economical power any more. As she was now standing out of the view of the other blonde and the small Magi, behind them, with Kouen's household, she could hear the whispers in the rows of the soldiers that had formed a circle around the dungeon capturers. The monster men had successfully dispersed the black djinn and her eyes followed the black trail of the Rukh rising from the burning ashes. Her stomach churned when she thought of Miran and Shun Ra who were probably now in one of the most dangerous places on the world, and she had sent them there. Would it have been better if she had taken them with her and left them with the Kou army?

She blinked when Alibaba took a few steps forward, until he stood right in front of Kouen, and pointed on the still kneeling Kouha.

"I stepped on the battlefield in order to protect the life of the third prince of the Kou empire, Kouha!"

Face, meet palm.

 _Brass balls,_ Foras murmured and snickered at the startled faces of both Kouha and Aladdin.

 _This idea is so suicidal it might work,_ agreed Gusion. A slight frown appeared on Kouen's face.

"Aren't you looking down on me? Since you have already lost your country."

 _Point for the goatee,_ Orobas scribbled a line under a doodle of Kouen on a flip-chart.

Alibaba blushed bright red in his self-caused embarrassment and looked down, fingers clenched into fists. The man walked past him and patted his back.

"But I have to thank you. You did a good job in saving Kouha. You did too, Lenka."

Aladdin and Alibaba both flinched around to gape at her before the small Magi blurred into motion, raced around a startled Kouen and jumped at his surrogate sister to hug her the first time in more than a year. He had grown, and even if he was wearing a dress now he was still Aladdin, cheerful, hungry and with a huge fixation on boobs.

"Big sis!"

Lenka grinned even more when she heard Kouha's surprised yelp then both she and Aladdin froze and turned west where the sky darkened at an alarming rate. The boy instantly freed himself and hurried over to the princes.

"Old man Kouen!"

"O-old man?" the warriors around the unfazed man screamed in shock while Lenka and her djinn snickered because this form of address was simply Aladdin.

"Please sent your soldiers back, I beg you! If the people around here continue to fight they will die!"

"Listen to him, Kouen," the blonde growled, her fingers twitching uncomfortably for her sword. Aladdin raised his hand and she noticed that his staff was missing; instead his fingers gripped a small twig tightly.

"We don't have time! If you don't believe me I will have this situation explained by your djinn!"

The three marks with the eight-pointed star on the man started glowing before the djinn emerged, hovering over the army in all their blue and scary glory.

" _We are here to serve you, our king, and the reincarnation of our past king!"_

 _Hell yes, he knows how to make a good show!_ Orobas cheered and added around seventeen marks under a scribble of Aladdin. Kouen on the other hand showed more expressions than Lenka had seen on him before, shock, amazement, curiosity, as he raised his arm to signal the soldiers not to attack.

"Show yourselves, everyone!"

Aladdin raised the twig and in a flutter of white Rukh the other djinn appeared, Lenka's six, Amon and Leraje joined Agares, Astaroth and Phenex in the sky.

" _Did you call us, Magi?"_

Their voices boomed over the area and sent the soldiers into shock while more Rukh shot towards Aladdin to feed him their energy. Kouen stared at the boy in grim awe.

"So you are the fourth Magi Judar talked about."

" _Our kings...,"_ Amon announced, the words causing the dungeon capturers to look at the spirit, _"You have to close the dark spot. Otherwise this world will be annihilated."_

Lenka and Kouen were the only ones not to voice their thoughts, but she could see that his eyes lingered on her for a few seconds. The djinn turned his giant body towards Magnostadt.

" _In the far western skies a giant hole has been opened. From there the incarnation of evil will descend on us... Anything that its hands touch will have their white Rukh stolen and erased. Menfolk, animals, plants... even light and sound will die out, nothing will move, and in its wake would be a black sun, shining down on a world without life."_

Lenka had to admit that the description sent shudders down her back, both of fear and anticipation. This was it. She had prepared a whole year for this.

Leraje leaned forward, black tears streaming down her face.

" _Don't let the world die, guys, or else it will be the same as Alma Toran!"_

" _Leraje,"_ Astaroth cut off her words.

" _That's a taboo. The humans of this world shouldn't even know of the existence of the other world."_

" _Lenka knows,"_ Orobas said and the other inclined his head.

" _The warrior is not from this world, nor from the other."_

"All hail the Multiverse theory," Lenka murmured, aware that now everyone sans Aladdin was looking at her, and moved towards the boy.

" _Destroy the Medium, capitalized,"_ Gusion said and the attention was back on the djinn. Alibaba tilted his head.

"The Medium?"

" _The incarnation of evil, a high order being from another dimension that is originally not supposed to exist in our world,"_ Amon explained.

" _And the trigger to bring it into our world is the Medium, a crystallized body of an unbelievable amount of depraved Rukh and_ magoi _."_

" _Al-Thamen wants this to happen and thus they cause the abnormalities in the world,"_ Orias added with a short nod. Ronové rolled his three eyes.

" _Well, the fanatics have simply no sense for aesthetics. A black sun is so_ not _sexy..."_

" _And now I've buried the hope that Lenka would ever capture a sane djinn beside me again,"_ Orias not exactly murmured, causing the woman to facepalm with a sigh.

"I blame Yunan."

Foras shook her head at the antics displayed by the males.

" _Look, kiddies, just destroy the Medium, then the hole in the sky will disappear. Granted, it will not be easy but we have to stall time until the back-up arrives._

 _Even with the warrior and Solomon's proxy here it will be hard."_

Aladdin nodded slowly then turned around when Kouen spoke up.

"What is this abut Solomon's proxy and a warrior? And is it possible that this other world is King Solomon's destroyed world?"

The boy blinked surprised at him.

"Are you familiar with Alma Toran, uncle?"

He yelped when the man grabbed the front of his magician robe and lifted him into the air, growling "Tell me everything. Right now!"

" _Lord Kouen, don't be so rude towards the Magi!"_ yelped his three djinn, panicking for the sake of the boy, until Lenka stepped forward and waved her hand in front of his eyes to get his attention.

"Bad Kouen! If you don't let my brother go I will sic Orobas on you! And seal your scrolls under thirty meters of crystal!"

" _Hey, that's right, I still haven't forgiven you for proposing to Lenka! I kill you!"_

" _No, you can't attack our king, he might hurt the Magi!"_

"It hurts already!"

"Kouen," Lenka growled and the ring on her right hand started to glow an eerie red. The man narrowed his eyes and grabbed her wrist.

"I want to know your story. The truth. Out with it."

" _I kill you!"_

" _SHUT THE FUCK UP."_

Everyone flinched and turned to Gusion who pointed with her flipper-turned-claws at the Magi.

" _Prince Aladdin has to say something."_

"That's right!" he yelled and glared back at the way taller man.

"If you sent back your soldiers and help us destroy the medium I'll tell you everything!"

" _WHAT?!"_ ten djinn yelled while Gusion stretched out her claw at her fellow spirits.

" _Pay up."_

" _A-are you sure about that, Magi?"_ Leraje questioned nervously while handing Gusion a golden coin she had pulled from her skirt. Amon nodded in agreement.

"If we tell them about Alma Toran the normal flow of destiny created by King Solomon will..."

"I am here, the normal flow doesn't exist any more," Lenka answered while Aladdin added:

"We are in an extreme situation already. We can't worry about that any more."

Kouen on the other hand smirked.

"Fine."

He inhaled deeply – Lenka noticed that his household was covering their ears and followed their example, not a second too late.

"KOUMEI! HAKURYUU HAKUEI; KOUGYOKU! COME FORTH IMMEDIATELY!"

The sound waves vibrated through the army and knocked the ones close to the prince down, and even through her makeshift earplugs the booming voice of the prince was WAY too loud.

"Have you finished treating the injured? As soon as the treatment for the heavily injured soldiers is finished Kouha and I will depart!"

Swaying slightly, because even Kouen's commando tone was too loud to be normal, Kouha stood up and straightened his hat that had almost fallen from his head at some point.

"Are you going to believe this..."

Lenka didn't hear his answer, she was busy checking if her friends' eardrums weren't shattered. Aladdin blinked up at her.

"Did I do okay?"

"Perfect," she smiled and ruffled his hair which caused him to preen slightly then hug her again to satisfy his perverted urges.

"We are going to beat this thing and then celebrate. You know, I have found a household member, Miran. He's ten. I think you will understand each other pretty well, he's a fanalis."

"Er, Lenka, may I ask where you were after the dungeon conquest with Muu Alexius?" Alibaba asked while scratching his head nervously.

"He came back alone and looked seriously pissed. As in, he mowed through all his opponents in the arena like it was nothing."

She paled and looked around in panic until she caught a glimpse of Foras and pointed at the djinn who waved back with a shit-eating grin.

"Her fault, she warped me to Kou!"

"He almost skinned me alive when I said I didn't know where you were! You owe me!"

"Still her fault!"

"I don't care, Lenka! I so don't care!"

"Magi!"

Kouen stepped towards them, a slightly crazy glint in his eyes and his household behind him.

"I will lend you the power of the metal vessel users of the Kou Empire. But in return, after all this is over you will tell me the truth about this world!"

Aladdin gulped audibly then glanced upwards at the two blondes next to him who exchanged pained smiles with each other then comforting with the boy.

"And you too, Lenka, about the world you are from!"

 _Oh fudge._

 _Hey, you've forced that onto yourself, you know?_

 _I know, Orobas._

"Hakuryuu, will he come too?!" exclaimed an excited Alibaba. Aladdin was confused how their friend could hear the screaming and one of Kouha's fangirls kindly explained the way of their long-distance communication to him – until her master suddenly appeared and clasped her mouth shut to stop her from revealing important secrets. Lenka on the other hand had a hard time focusing on the real world due to thinking about Alibaba's question. Hakuryuu. Would he come to help them? Or would everything follow cannon? Had he given in to the corruption already?

 _I think you have to kill something, dear,_ Foras said with a chuckle. Lenka nodded and activated Orobas' equip when the three males did theirs.

And in flashes of light they followed the fourth Magi to Magnostadt.

* * *

Miran did his very best.

Like a red blur he raced and jumped over the debris, dodged the giant black feet coming down from the sky and picked up citizens on his way to deliver them to the small group of magicians clad in their shiny borg armor. They were doing their best to defend the populace, but with beings made from the black Rukh they could only do so much, as could he.

This was like a dungeon, he had to survive because getting killed was not an option. Using his household vessel to burn through the leg of one of the giants, throwing pieces of walls and the floor at the seemingly endless assault from the black floating sphere up in the sky he waited for Lenka to arrive.

Shun Ra on the other hand had never been more scared before in her entire life.

Not even the thrice damn dungeon that was the root of all her problems had been as abysmal as the situation now. Explosions and screaming people all over the place, dark multi-limbed giants in the air and on the floor and magicians who were completely useless – and she was even more useless than them.

Even the crazy red-haired kid was more useful than her, darting around and causing white fiery booms whenever he got close enough to the black giants. How he did that was beyond her understanding, but the white flames would consume them until they were gone. Up until now she had seen three of the giants disappear this way, but for each defeated six new ones appeared and tried stomping the humans to death.

She thought she knew the feeling of despair – until today. Now she knew _despair_. Kneeling on the sidelines of the battlefield with her fingers gripping her dress so tight that her knuckles were bone white and shaking like a leaf Shun Ra once again wondered how she could survive. Every blow shook the earth, spells were flying around as were the magicians and there was so much chaos – she couldn't. There was no way she would. Absolutely no way. Only a miracle would save her. But when had she ever trusted in miracles? Her parents had told her to do things on her own, not to wait for help if the chance for it to come was minimal. If no one was there beside to do a job, to save a life, to offer help, she should do it. Her honor would forbid it otherwise.

No one would help the people down there if she didn't do it.

She inhaled deeply to calm herself but the sobbing made it difficult, as did the dust that made her eyes tear up, or maybe it was not the dust but her own incompetence?

"No. Stop crying."

She willed her hand to let go of her dress, to slowly rise and then to hit her. The sudden pain was not enough, so she slapped herself again and a third time until she was sure she could stand up again.

"I will stop crying."

No good came from crying. She had cried for days when her parents had disappeared, until her voice was gone as well, but that hadn't brought them back. Her own efforts had done it. And the crazy blonde that had brought them to war, but not to die. To help, because she trusted her and the kid to be strong enough to help those who were too weak to help themselves. Even if this was not the truth, she could live with the half-lie, get herself together and do something.

Her legs were weak and shaky, but somehow, somehow they carried her weight when she moved them apart to a stable stance. Shun Ra looked around, destruction everywhere, death and despair and pain, cries and tears. Oh so much despair. But if she didn't help them...

Her hands wandered to her back and suddenly she was holding her bow, firmly, an arrow nocked on the string, pointing at the giant eye of one of the monsters.

A strange calm filled her while her eyes followed the being that stomped on the floor near the incredibly big hole from which the ball of dark must have ascended, trying to squish the citizens running away from the four feet.

She had received help, now she would do her best to return the favor.

Inhale. Her pulse thrummed in her ears like thunder but she still catched the voice speaking to her, offering her...

 _Do you want power?_

 _Yes. Yes, I do. Oh please, give me the power to help. Please please please I need it so much...!_

Exhale. Time seemed to slow down when her fingers let go of the arrow and the projectile shot from the string, through the air, towards the black giant, towards the pupil, was too far away for her to see, but she was sure, sure that it had hit the target-

Jade green crystal shards grew from the eye, impaled the being, then a shell covered the thing, connected it with the floor that broke under the weight and the enemy tumbled down the hole, a flick of verdant in the dark.

Shun Ra noticed that her bow was glowing, or rather the part wrapped in worn-out leather, the part of which she knew was actually a metal connection between the two wooden parts of the weapon. A bow was an expensive thing to have in an area where there were no trees, only grassy plains, and her father had given it to her when she was old enough to wield it. She had hunted with it, wounded, killed, but never before she had encountered something like that – until she saw what Lenka had done in the dungeon. When she had wiped out the monsters in the ruin city.

Her legs were about to give in again when a wave of exhaustion washed over her, blurred her vision for a moment or three as the voice spoke again, coming from a glowing white bird she could somehow see, somewhere inside her head.

 _I am a member of the household of friendship and reconciles, Gusion. You have been chosen to serve our king!_

"Oh shoot."

Kang Shun Ra suddenly got the feeling she was destined to be following a certain blonde that she had perceived as crazy, reckless and absolutely megalomaniac around for a very long time.

Almost on the other side of the plaza Miran heard the voice of his own familiar, sickeningly cheery in the chaos.

 _A new household vessel has been declared by Gusion! It's the mean girl._

"Oh fudge," he murmured, flipped back in the air to turn around and get to her before she exhausted her _magoi_ in a pseudo-heroic attempt to prove that she could do better than him. He found her atop of the wall they had landed on minutes earlier after a mad dash to reach Magnostadt, standing upright and inspecting her bow which gave of a faint green glow. She looked up when he landed and almost instantly started yelling. As always. So she was more or less alright, if maybe a bit frightened.

"What did just happen? Tell me what happened to my bow!"

"You have been chosen as a household member by one of Lenka's djinn. Gusion gave you power because you demanded it. Activating your household vessel feeds on your _magoi_ and strains your body, and the more power you use and demand the faster it will turn you into a monster.

Don't worry, as long as you don't exhaust yourself too much nothing will happen."

"Fantastic!" growled Shun Ra and scrunched her nose at the black djinn that popped up like worms after rain. No, cockroaches was a much better comparison.

"Go ahead and save people, I'll guard your back."

Miran gaped at her then raised his hand.

"Did you hit your head? Are you feeling dizzy? How many fingers am I showing?"

"Just go, kid!"

He nodded and jumped down, back into the danger of getting flattened by giant flailing limbs and collapsing buildings. Zigzagging around holes and piles of rubble he made his way over to a civilian family. The father was doing his best trying to pull his child out from below something that seemed to have been a piece of the floor, either way he was going to rip the little thing apart while his wife was already unconscious. Miran landed in a crouch next to them, reached under the debris and pushed upwards to get the other child free.

"Watch out!"

The sunlight was blocked by a large black foot and the fanalis cursed inwardly for not checking his surroundings. He would not make this mistake again, he decided and focused _magoi_ in his right household vessel, but he was too slow, not enough _magoi_ , too-

The telltale 'boom' of something connecting with a magician's borg was heard and Miran blinked surprised at the girl with the long blonde hair, white dress and golden staff that stood protectively in front of them. He knew who she was.

"Lady Magi!"

Scheherazade nodded sharply and pushed the barrier away from her, effectively covering the whole field devoid of cracks and broken homes while a second shield appeared around her. Miran gritted his teeth and continued to free the civilians before they were caught up in the battle even more, but everything seemed to happen so fast and he was slow, too slow.

In moments like this he hated that he was still a child, limited in what he could do.

 _Hey, wanna have more power? I could give you some, you know?_

 _Not in a million years._

 _Aw. Meanie._

A pained cry caused him too look at Scheherazade, and again he was too slow to prevent her arm getting pierced by what seemed to be a black tentacle. Solomon, what was were these things if they were able to injure a Magi this much?

Luckily the dungeon capturers arrived in this moment. Alibaba seemed to appear out of thin air, covered in flames and severed the tentacle with a swipe; the part that had pierced the Magi of Reim dissolved in a flutter of black Rukh and Miran exhaled relieved. Lenka was here.

* * *

Said blonde hovered over the city of Magnostadt and examined the orb of ogres, which somehow reminded her of the black ball used in snooker. Or a strange fungus. Or a sphere spawning black ugly ogres with the intention to destroy and kill all living on the face of the earth. The Medium, capitalized.

"Now I'm not entirely sure if praying to be transferred here was a good idea."

 _No shit, Sherlock,_ Orobas snickered.

The chance of dying a painful death was a hundred times more realistic than ever before, and to be frank, it scared her to no end. She was close, so damn close to death she could almost feel the cold breath of the reaper down her neck.

It was intoxicating.

A howl of wind and several loud booms directed her focus to the Kou dungeon capturers that had just teleported to Magnostadt. Hakuei had used her djinn powers to pull the enemy out of the city and her siblings had taken care of them, now dramatically levitating over the settlement. A few seconds later Aladdin and Alibaba joined them and the excited voice of Kougyoku wafted over to her. Lenka lowered her altitude and nodded at Koumei, who nodded back.

"Ready?"

"I fear my brother is."

"The truth and the knowledge of history beyond that... will be mine."

 _He is a bit of a history nerd, isn't he?_ Foras asked with a chuckle.

 _It's almost Ugo-ish._

 _Less talking, more attacking,_ Orobas growled and Lenka nodded and charged the black djinn.

It was a mess. So much depraved Rukh filling the air, so many enemies and whenever she had cut down or scorched one three new came down at her and the circle started anew.

 _Eligos!_

The fiery armor vanished and Lenka dropped from the sky like a stone while her body contorted, shrank until the weight from her torso disappeared and reappeared on her back as giant dragonfly wings glittering like jewels growing from both sides of her spine and gravity was lifted from her again. She rushed towards a black djinn and the reflection in the giant eye showed her that she had the physique of a child now, with flowing amber hair held up in pigtails and orange irises, in a triangle top and a slitted skirt, jewel clasps in form of the eight-pointed star holding the fabric together. Green paint streaks led from the third eye on her forehead to her own and when her palm connected with the exterior of the ogre a spark of orange electricity hit the being that turned stiff for a moment before it attacked one of it's brethren. Lenka grinned viciously and began darting around, every enemy she touched turned into a puppet of hers.

 _Insensitive Rule._

From the corner of her eye she saw Koumei using his djinn equip, amazed of the efficiency Dantalion had then perked up at Kouha's yell of "Then thousand?!"

 _Wait, we have to kill that many?_

 _Be glad you're only dealing with one black spot, we had to fight against half a dozen during the fall,_ Ronové said and directed her gaze towards Kouen who rushed forward and zigzagged through the enemies like a confused lightning bolt, explosions following in his wake. Several djinn changed forms and a multitude of hands and arms reached out for the man and covered him in a layer of matter – only to explode a few seconds later.

 _I counted six._

 _Aladdin did as well._

 _Ho hoo,_ Eligos whistled and wriggled her eyebrows.

 _Djinn equip change to Agares. Eligos says he is cute like that._

"Holy fudge in the oven!" Lenka yelped when the first prince reverse-drilled a column from the ground and shot the several kilometer high pillar in the air while Hakuei kept the enemy at bay. The earth trembled and shook until magma spouted from the hole and burst open the ground while lightning shook the sky.

Her eyes widened and she used Orias' black holes to absorb red-hot globs whose trajectory was much too close to Magnostadt for her liking but luckily the lava flow curved around the city walls. Lenka hissed and released the magma over the next black djinn then started yelling at the figure down in the volcano pit.

"Fucking hell, Kouen, you can't do terraforming this close to cities! My household is there you rabid bastard!"

Growling angrily she concentrated her energy for the extreme magic, words flowing from Eligos to her to focus easier.

"Grant me thy favor, oh sovereign.

Thy orders are sacrosanct, thy tactics impeccable.

 _Chaos Reign!"_

The black djinn caught in the light of the magic circle turned against each other and it was a disaster. Lenka smirked satisfied as the ten or twenty ogres started beating their brethren up, the air was filled with black Rukh returning to the medium or getting filtered through her own system and thus increasing the nausea she got. A blast of heat shot past her and she caught a glimpse of Kouen who was darting around and incinerating again, _magoi_ refilled from his visit at his personal volcano.

And then back to the volcano. And in the fray again.

 _This is not good for his health,_ murmured Foras at the back of her mind. Lenka nodded and caught a few more black djinn with Eligos' power and sent them on suicide trips back to the blob. They were very creative in their way of passing away.

 _No, I mean, his mental health as well._

She frowned and tilted her head to listen to what he was screaming. At first it seemed like the babble of someone who had clearly lost his marbles but then he was probably really angry... right?

"Once I get rid of you I will finally obtain everything I desire! Fucking fools who can't even talk will die! Hurry up and let me talk with the Magi!"

"Oh God," Lenka murmured and dodged a giant palm, thus maneuvered to the outskirts of the battle.

"Lenka! Don't you dare run away! I will always find you!"

"Shut the hell up you creeper!" she yelled back and kicked her enemy against the head, who then turned around and slapped another black djinn, who in turn buried his fists in her minion's eye, causing him... it to disperse. Creative.

 _Damn Eligos, stealing my idea,_ Ronové complained as Lenka brought another djinn under her control.

 _Eligos did nothing like that._

 _Well yes you did. Yes, yes, and I will never let you live in peace until you admit that you stole my aesthetic idea of submitting enemies and forced me to do something else._

 _Nuh-uh._

"Wait a second."

Lenka stopped over Magnostadt and prepared another extreme magic.

"So you are now telling me you have both the same power and I conquered a dungeon for nothing but Shun Ra?"

 _Eligos is much more useful! He bites people!_

 _Kinky,_ Foras giggled while Ronové scowled and crossed his arms to sulk more efficiently.

 _Well, it is not. I can bite people and have them obey me, but it is much more complicated-_

 _Talk faster._

 _He is a drain and can suck people dry of_ magoi _._

" _Chaos Reign!"_

Cue black djinn massacre over the city, people screaming from down below and – was that a cheer? She saluted at the magicians and then blinked at something whizzing past her, hitting the last giant and turning him into a very nice block of green crystal that dropped from the sky and into the giant hole in the middle of Magnostadt.

Lenka shrugged and shot back to the blob of doom then remembered her conversation with her djinn.

 _That draining thing would be very useful right now, I'm running out of juice fast. Ideas, children?_

 _Me! Pick me!_ Orobas cheered and rubbed his hands while his twin nodded.

 _Use him and Mount Kouen._

She nodded and made her way towards the volcano, then stopped as she was about to pass Kougyoku.

"Vinea is a water djinn, isn't she?"

Her friend shot her a confused look then followed Lenka's outstretched finger pointing at the ocean. Her pink eyes widened comically, then she nodded fast and set off to get a free refill, yelling at her half-brothers that she was recovering _magoi_ now.

"Brat from Balbadd! Get over here!"

The imperial mountain-maker seemed to have an idea including Alibaba, the volcano and refueling, so she changed her equip in mid-flight and dipped her sword into the lava. Kouen joined a few seconds later and unceremoniously dipped her fellow blond into the molten rocks then glared at her.

"Extreme magic."

"Oh, great plan. Super destruction times awesome and hotness."

 _Since when is Alibaba hot?_

 _Sh, he can be destruction._

Kouen nodded once and pressed Alibaba's face for a few more seconds into the admittedly rather unhealthy ground until he thought the other had recovered enough _magoi_ then threw him into the air, grabbed Lenka's arm and dragged her up with him. She freed herself with a twitch and called upon Orobas' power.

"Spirit of faithfulness and truth..."

"Spirit of terror and meditation..."

"Spirit of politeness and austerity..."

Three luminous circles appeared in the sky, aimed towards the black spot, the air started thrumming, shimmering with heat and power as the dungeon capturers spoke their incantation. A giant white reptile dragon burst from Kouen's, wrapped around the globe and incinerated the djinn emerging from the barrier. The flames were fanned higher when a white and blue flood shot from the one Lenka had evocated that joined and fused Astaroth's fire snake, granting it wings and the power to sustain the scorching temperature on the surface with a flap.

And from Alibaba's circle a warrior came into existence, both him and the broadsword he was holding made from the blaze that could melt everything, and swung the weapon down at the barrier. Ripples formed where the sword connected with the shell. The giant eyes underneath squinted in what seemed eerily like a smirk, as if the matter was self-aware, and then they bulged outwards, a burst of pressure accompanying the act that made the fire warrior flicker and the flames lower. Veins pulsated on Alibaba's face as he struggled to finish his attack.

Kouen pointed with his blade at the other.

"Lend him your flames, Astaroth."

Lenka nudged her own djinn to help the younger blond and the flaming snake left the blob to wrap around the fire spirit's sword, melted into it and the weapon enlarged with a roar as the flames started to whirl, it seemed like the air was burning when it was brought down again. The resulting boom when the barrier finally cracked was like music in her ears.

"What's wrong? You're pathetic. Put your back into it," Kouen commanded and Alibaba growled back, both of them sweating in concentration.

"Shut up! I know!"

"Boys."

Lenka rolled her eyes when Alibaba yelled and struck out with his sword, the figure conjured through joint extreme magic doing the same. The following explosion filled the sky with white, heat, a thunderous, booming field of utter annihilation, the tendrils of the fallen god from above ripping like silk strings.

It was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen up until now.

"Dig it, bitch!" she whooped and gave Orobas a mental high five. And then:

"You have to be kidding me."

She flew next to Kouen who seemed a lot more strained than before and was staring at the ball with unwilling admiration.

"To think that even three extreme magic couldn't break it's barrier completely..."

"That's one unholy though fucker. Don't tell the others, but I almost wish Judar was here to absorb some black Rukh for us."

 _And admire your djinn equip?_

 _Nergh. Foras._

Kouen smirked for a moment then continued to glare. Alibaba was more enthusiastic that the two of them, even though he was the one who had exhausted himself the most.

"We were able to break the pillar connecting the Medium with that thing inside the hole!"

"But for how long?"

"How aren't the flames dying down?" Aladdin asked as he swooped closer. The first prince of Kou almost smiled at the boy, or maybe he was already thinking of what he would ask from him.

"The flames of Astaroth's extreme magic will burn for all eternity unless I order them to disappear. The emerging djinn will be burned when they try to crawl out. The Medium will exhaust its _magoi_ either way."

"Our magic will cleanse the Rukh and return them to the great flow."

Lenka reached out to snatch a tiny white bird from the air and the small burst of energy it gave her, albeit a bit unwillingly, came without the clamor she received from the tainted ones. The others nodded then Kouen turned towards the volcano.

"Let's recover more _magoi_ , now that we have some time."

The other two fire users followed him, but halfway to the mountain hands reached over them, giant, black hands that sucked the Rukh out of the ground. The lava cooled down immediately, the smoking stopped, but the most devious thing was that there were no Rukh, absorbed upon contact with the thing. The arms retracted and the random black djinn that had attacked the humans on the ground flew back to their origin and fused with it.

And while the others stopped in the air to gawk at the transformation Lenka shot past them to attack the distinctly human form of the one that ate the Rukh, screaming her challenge at the enemy.

* * *

The darkness of her mindscape was like the sky at night, dotted with small shiny lights. Her memories, Lenka realized when she reached out to touch one of them, pictures filling her conscience like a sip of hot coffee.

 _Lenka shook her head and smiled._

" _Orobas and Gusion really hate Zagan. Be careful, Aladdin."_

" _I will," he said and turned to hug her tightly. Sudden footsteps announced the arrival of another person and Morgiana appeared in the kitchen. She blinked in surprise when Lenka stretched out her arm and pulled her into the hug as well. Mor instantly wrapped her arms around the other two and the traveler started to hum happily._

" _You know," she said after a few seconds, "you two have become family to me. I love you both as much as my siblings by blood."_

 _Aladdin nuzzled his head into her blue blouse._

" _You're my big sister, Lenka. Love you too."_

" _... me too."_

" _Aww," Lenka intensified her hug and Mor smiled and hugged back until Aladdin started to cough._

" _Too tight!"_

 _He wriggled free and the two girls squeezed each other until the blonde gasped for air._

" _You win!"_

" _Guys? Are you here?"_

 _With a loud rumble Alibaba popped up and looked at Aladdin for information._

" _What are they doing?"_

" _Group hug!" Lenka cheered and dragged the other girl towards Alibaba._

" _Group hug!" repeated Aladdin and hugged his male friend tightly, who yelped in surprise as the girls joined._

" _Can't … breathe!"_

 _Lenka started to laugh then stepped back._

" _I wish you as much luck as you can get and come back safe!"_

" _I try!" the Magi chirped happily, Morgiana nodded with a smile and Alibaba grinned brightly._

" _Sure!"_

She chuckled then sighed at the reminiscence of her saying goodbye to her friends who were going to leave for the dungeon of Zagan. So much time had passed since then, and now it was like it had happened seconds ago. Lenka was not sure if she had ever visited this particular place inside her head, but if she had it must have happened long ago. She looked down and wriggled her toes, the movement sending ripples over the surface of the clear floor, disturbing the image of the outside world.

"You know, up until now I haven't spent a single moment thinking of why I don't regret killing," she mused aloud then picked another memory from the air, from her time in Balbadd shortly after her first falling-out with Sinbad.

 _"Kill people like him," she said and, in the same move punched the Al-Thamen guy on the other side of the flame wall in the face. The nose broke under the impact with a satisfying crushing sound, his head flew back while blood turned the scarf he wore crimson red. Alibaba screamed in surprise and shock, Cassim as well but she ignored them, her expression a manic grin. Her left fist hit the man's temple while the other punched him in the guts. She started to laugh, a fierce, mad sound that echoed with another persons voice._

 _"This is great!"_

 _The mage staggered back and came in contact with the flames. His clothes didn't burn but the flesh of his leg started to melt like hot wax and he screamed in surprise and pain._

 _"Scream more!"_

 _Her punches were like the fire of a machine gun, fast and hard._

 _"More!"_

 _Blue scales grew up her arms, turning her jabs even heavier._

"Fiend! _"_

 _Wrath flooded through her body like fire, not only hers but that of her djinn as well._

"Answer me!"

 _Their voices merged and turned into one, not male nor female. The man coughed, spat blood while bones cracked under the vicious blows he received._

"Why did you betray our king?!"

 _Their fist hit his chin, the head flew back and with a loud_ _ _snap__ _the spine broke. The corpse slumped and turned under a flashing light into a small doll that fell on the ground, jumped up and rolled to the shocked fog troupers._

 _Lenka/Orobas growled and picked the clay figurine up._

"Filthy doll soldier."

"I never really thought about it. Very strange."

"You have never taken a human life before."

She nodded and turned to her djinn twins that were with her in the seemingly endless space. Orobas was sitting cross-legged on the floor, slightly hunched over due to him having his chin propped up with one hand while the other was drawing on the ground. Orias had sat down in the same way at first but straightened when Lenka started talking, and he had been the one to answer her. He was smiling softly at her, understanding her situation.

"Al-Thamen dolls, dungeon monsters, undead, yes. But until now I have yet to see you take a human life. I find that quite admirable in you."

"The zombies in Ronové..."

"The idiot returned the living to the village afterwards," Orobas drawled and flipped against the floor to create ripples. The other djinn nodded in agree.

"True. Those left alive were brought back here."

"Are you worrying for the human inside the medium, dearest? The magician?"

Lenka sighed and walked over to them, small waves forming with her steps. The floor was both cool and warm, first the one, then the other, a contradiction, but smooth and distinctly water-ish.

"Perhaps. I don't know. But thanks that you have been with me up until now. I couldn't ask for better comrades."

Orias blushed happily and Orobas preened while sitting up straight.

"We love you too, Lenka, and will protect you as good as we can."

"Are you ready then?" she asked and sat down between them, holding her hands out to her friends. Both took them without hesitation and the tingle of energy flooded her arms.

"I am."

"Pf, I was born ready."

"You know the risks?"

"Paralysis that will eventually turn permanent the longer I use it? Piece of cake. Twin djinn of faithfulness, dignity and truth, answer my prayers. Unite your households once again..."

* * *

Lenka's scream turned into laughter as her body morphed again, golden chains turning bronze, cloth strips wrapping around her torso to cover her, accompanied by a burning itch she ignored, and then she slammed against the kneeling form of the Medium, slicing upwards with her sword, but the deep wound mended itself seconds later. The enemy twitched nonetheless and several hundred hands reached for her.

"You did not just say that," she thought amused and opened a black hole that started sucking them in – and cursed when the stick figure leaned back and its head, or where the head should have been turned into a gazillion of hands that shot upwards in an attempt to catch the black tendrils and pull the dark god down to earth. Alibaba was there to meet them with a war cry and a swipe of his weapon, but one of the palms deflected him.

"Don't let it touch you!" she yelled at him and went for the kneecap instead. The leg buckled under her attack but then a healthy – or to be more precise, unhealthy – amount of freaky fingers came after her and Lenka had to dodge them, while the other hands were used to support the body and suck more Rukh from the ground.

An explosion obscured her vision for a moment when Kouen intercepted a hand that would have crushed her sword arm. Instead it grazed his leg and he hissed in pain when his djinn equip was ripped from his calf with a sound similar to tearing paper. And not only his skin, a good chunk of muscle was absorbed as well. Blood splattered through the air and pumped from the severed veins and arteries. More palms came his way but Lenka summoned black orbs to shield the wounded man.

"Get healed, it eats Rukh! The hands can deflect attacks as well."

A multitude of water spears was shot at the Medium as Kougyoku returned to the battlefield, and to say that she was livid was understatement. She was a goddess of pure rage, the magic she used the power of the ocean, wild and untamable, directed at the one that had hurt what belonged to her.

Ah, now I know why you befriended her in Balbadd, Orobas hummed in Lenka's ear. She is truly a force to be reckoned with.

"Koumei, direct them," Kouen bellowed from the ground and his brother nodded and flexed his fingers.

"Acknowledged, I will teleport them. Princess Hakuei, Kouha, Kougyoku. Magi, Lenka."

With a flicker Hakuei appeared in front of the Medium, her extreme magic a slicing tornado pillar that lifted the body high up into the air, cutting its limbs and the earth. Kouha was there to meet the falling body with his own attack, and Solomon, Leraje's magic was awesome. The body was catapulted towards Kougyoku and the ocean, the princess turning the waves into one giant spear that pierced the figure and then Aladdin who got it with his favorite heat attack.

And then it was her time to try the double equip's extreme magic, the words having flowed through her mind like a song, focusing the power she needed in the glowing circle.

Feel the heat of the sun,

The cold of space,

perish under their onslaught.

 _" _Monochrome Disruption!"__

Eight black holes opened in the fabric of the world and white flame torrents shot outside, a contradiction to the nature of a black hole, but the laws of physics and logic had been defied so many times today that Lenka didn't care if the attack was in theory not possible. It worked, and blazing white flames were awesome.

 _ _Pyromania, pyromani-ah, pyromania-__

 _ _Stop, Orobas, just... please. Not__ Cascada _ _in a situation like this.__

 _ _Feh. Ungrateful.__

She chuckled and continued to fire regular attacks at the Medium until Kouen and Alibaba joined them again. Lenka hadn't noticed he had been missing, but maybe he had been wounded as well? No matter how much she tried to change the future, some things stayed the same, were bound to happen one way or another. But they looked a little less weary than she had thought they were in her memories – and less wounded, especially Kouen.

"We have to stop it before it regains its magoi!" Aladdin cried and the dungeon capturers nodded in agree then fired off their attacks at the same time to have them united by Koumei in a blast of pure obliteration. And still it would not be enough.

"Damn Yunan, hurry up and get the others here!" Lenka yelled at no one in particular when the waves ceased, causing her friends and comrades in battle to stare at her.

"You mean it's not over – still not over?" wheezed Alibaba and she shook her head and pointed with a claw – she noticed it was a warm bronze color with a darker spot pattern now instead of azure – at the hole that formed in the ocean. The hole that widened and finally the Medium rose from the bottom of the sea, larger than ever.

"It's stealing Rukh from the sea!" Aladdin shouted, terrified and angry. Lenka snarled at the enemy, at the waving hands that were like algae or hair and that sucked the power out of everything.

"Can we really win against it? We can't use extreme magic any more, and our djinn equip is at it's limit..." Kouha murmured.

 _ _Is there any difference from the double equip to the normal one?__

 _ _This will sound ridiculously overpowered now, but attach holes to the others,__ said Orias. _ _Quite a lot of the Rukh I have absorbed have been cleansed by now.__

She nodded curtly and summoned the globes that were so different from the crystallized body of the Medium at the beginning of the fight. A warm energy radiated from them, similar to the sun.

"We have to win. I refuse to die in a place like this, by the means of Al-Thamen, without them paying for the pain they have caused. I have a quest to fulfill and this sick fuck is. In. My. Way."

Hakuei and Kouha were clearly the ones most drained as they had had no chance or way to refill their magoi before, with Alibaba and Kouen a close second. The relieved gasps and pleased moans were a little disturbing but it showed Lenka that the transfer worked, even though she herself was suffering. Her left leg was slowly numbing, almost as if it had been in iced water for too long, or out in the cold.

"Lenka is right," Aladdin agreed with her and sent his own prayer to the Rukh to receive energy. "The same thing happened in Alma Toran. But the shape of the Medium then was totally different from this one. Either way, King Solomon and the seventy-two people that formed his household and became djinn attacked it one after another."

"My djinn told me they had to deal with several globes, so there amount of people working on one is almost the same – Hakuei!"

A giant fist slammed down at the princess who yelped and tried to dodge while at the same time a space portal appeared over her that sucked the attack inside and Aladdin summoned his borg around her as he was the one closest to Hakuei. From another hole a burst of flames was fired at the Medium and Kougyoku had the ocean obey her again.

"Dodge!"

Too late, a hand grabbed the girl's leg and several more wrapped around her until Kouha was able to cut his sister free, and then they targeted him. Lenka snarled and covered him with her black holes and spatial distortion while dodging her own pursuers.

And then Koumei dropped the top of a mountain on it.

That's fucking badass, Orobas agreed with her. The Medium leaned back as if it inhaled deeply and unleashed its power. The sky darkened with the sheer mass of the hands now in existence that reached up for the second prince of Kou and she couldn't move a finger!

Lenka gave a startled yelp and released the equip, again dropping from the sky like a stone or a very stupid blonde dungeon capturer that should know the law of gravitation.

 _ _Plans!__

Gusion jolted into action around her and the sudden pins and needles in both legs and right arm along with the unbelievable burn of her limbs felt so good, so alive. It hurt like her skin was ripped off, her muscles twitched uncontrollable as well, but Lenka was just grateful for having feeling in them again.

 _ _How many are out?__

 _ _Kougyoku and Koumei. The others have recovered enough to be of use.__

"Right," she said then the air was knocked out of her when the Medium reached up again, finally grabbed a tendril and pulled. Instantly the uninjured dungeon capturers jumped into action, firing from every direction at the blasted embodiment of evil that was about to destroy everything they had been fighting for.

 _ _God damn it,__ she cursed when another shard fell useless into the sea, another gust of wind easily endured, another high-pressure attack shrugged off like it was nothing.

And then a lighting bolt shot from the sky and severed the connection again, followed by another blinding electric attack.

Lenka's shoulders sagged in relief.

The Alliance had finally arrived.

* * *

"About bloody time, Yunan!"

The Magi straightened his hat and chuckled.

"Have we arrived on time?"

"Kougyoku and Koumei are wounded and I don't know how long Alibaba will last," Lenka informed him as she hovered closer. He smiled warmly at her and pointed at the figure entering the battlefield. Her eyes widened surprise then she sighed in relief.

"Morgiana had become quite strong under your tutelage, hasn't she?"

He nodded happily while the girl caught her male friend in the air and brought him to the ground safely before the Alliance's assimilated household members crashed the party in showers of fire, electricity and light beams. Lenka chuckled when she caught the fanalis girl's plans on becoming powerful like that in the future but Yunan was not as enamored with assimilation.

"I have already told you, Morgiana, once assimilation is achieved you can't turn back into a human any more. As far as I know the warriors sadly called it 'the ultimate measure' in Alma Toran..."

 _All capitalized,_ Gusion corrected the Magi while Mor jumped and used the hot air created by her household vessel to fly, causing Alibaba to yelp surprised.

Yunan smiled at the young man.

"It's alright, Alibaba. Now-"

"Yunan. Now that I think of it, it's been ages since the last time you showed up."

Lenka froze when Sinbad flew closer to them while her thoughts started spinning. Sinbad, Reim, a letter, Scheherazade, distrust, accusations – she really wanted to hit him. Sadly it would be not a good move to make now, in a battle to the death, but later.

 _Revenge is ours_ , Orobas cackled devilishly and rubbed his hands, Eligos raised a stick blender – _"Vroom, vroom, he he he he."_ – and Ronové seemed fairly interested in their endeavor to make Sinbad suffer.

So she smiled sweetly and watched Morgiana pull a variation of Fiery Bondage Chains of Doom – blame Eligos – Version Extreme Saw Fire Wing – she enjoyed this way too much – on the Medium and then the Alliance dungeon capturers and household members continued to try and crack the barrier. It was very nice seeing others try and do what she had tried already and knew it was useless, but why tell them? They should figure this out on their own.

"If an uninvited guest comes to our world, we will erase it. No matter what kind of sublime 'god' it is," Sinbad declared, apparently to no one. Lenka sighed wearily then blinked. Now that was a familiar presence. Three, two, one...

The barrier broke with a huge crack when a certain dungeon capturer from Reim tore through the Medium's shell like a hot knife through butter and her heart fluttered at the sight of Muu Alexius in his djinn equip.

 _Well, he's hot,_ Ronové stated, causing her to blink again before her brain processed what her newest djinn had said.

 _Err, mine!?_

And three more seconds to realize what she had answered but only one to blush bright red and hide her hand in her face.

 _Solomooon, noooo..._

 _Shoo, it's okay, we understand perfectly._

 _Fudge you, Foras. Seriously._

A flutter of Rukh caught her attention, and the feelings it transferred. Warm, almost immeasurable in their depth, honesty, trust, adoration, love. So much love. Hope, confidence in that the future they would form would be the one she had imagined as well, once upon a time, when she was much younger and inexperienced, but full of passion and ideas for a world that opened all doors for her.

Lenka's breath hitched and even though she tried to stop them the tears were falling freely with the rest of Scheherazade's life force filling her own reserves. She wiped them away and joined the other dungeon capturers high in the sky over the Medium that formed the symbol of power, the eight-pointed star in a circle.

"Extreme magic!"

The call from fourteen of the most powerful mortal individuals that were no Magi was followed by a blast of destruction, blinding light of obliteration, the force comparable to a bomb from her own world, capable of so much pain and despair.

The sight of the Medium getting ripped into tiny pieces was entirely satisfying to Lenka and she was not ashamed to confirm that she liked the sight. The woman looked around to see if her friends and honorary siblings were alright. Koumei seemed to want to sleep through ten days straight, but when did he not, Kougyoku's legs looked raw despite Kouen having healed her and the other Rens suffered from major _magoi_ depletion. As soon as they touched the floor they collapsed in a way rather atypical for royals, coughing and wheezing. Muu and Ignatius landed more dignified but they were exhausted as well.

"It was attacked by fourteen metal vessel users who used extreme magic it at the same time! There is no enemy that could survive such a thing!" one of the Reim soldiers exclaimed. Lenka shook her head and hovered between the Kou and Reim parties, not trusting her legs to carry her weight already.

"We have ripped it apart several times while it hadn't sucked so much Rukh from the ground but it came back again and again. Nasty little thing. I mean, Koumei dropped a bloody mountain on it, Kougyoku turned the ocean against the thing, I tried to counter-drain it but hell, just look, there it is again!" she yelled and pointed with her weapon at the figure emerging from the sea, again, turned around to stare at the soldier, Muu, Ignatius, all while waving her other arm.

"See? Oh no you don't!"

The Medium reached out to get a hold of the tentacles again and now Lenka was livid again, absolutely, utterly angry, ready to pull a Kougyoku and fuck the thing over again. She inhaled deeply to begin her intonation when the figure hesitated, lowered its main hands and clutched the part where its head would have been, if it were a tad more human. With a sigh she landed, stomped the spear in the earth and leaned against it, much to the confusion of the people surrounding her.

"Okay, the main part of the deal is done."

"Lenka?"

She looked down at Aladdin who cocked his head to the side.

"I'll go and try to save the chancellor."

"I know. Whatever happens, I believe in you, Aladdin," replied the woman with a weak smile. He nodded once then sighed.

"Can you use your power as well, please?"

"I don't know how well it works. But I will do my best," she confirmed and followed him to where Yamraiha, Morgiana and Alibaba were waiting for them, changing her djinn equip to Orias again. Aladdin took his former teacher's hand and fixated the medium, then his power spiked considerably, thousands of white Rukh turned visible around him.

"Solomon's wisdom!"

 _Super power of knowing everything and turning people back to good!_ Eligos yelled in agree. Lenka inhaled slowly and mentally reached out for the tainted Rukh swarming the Medium, imagining she was a filter, or a washing machine, they would get in black and come out a shiny sparkly white.

She didn't know how long she was standing there, trying not to break down from all the incredibly painful, devastating, sad memories accompanying the black Rukh when a sudden influx came that made her legs buckle, and a voice speaking to her.

 _No one is superior to the other._

 _Yes,_ she agreed and opened her eyes to look at the white and black birds in the sky. _We are all human beings._

They had won the battle, but the war would continue.

* * *

 **Thanks for your patience! The aftermath of the war will be posted on Sunday, 13th of March!**

 **And aw, Kronos Magniratha, Jihanz0411, Handara, redneckswagger: your reviews made the process of writing this monster less stressful :) sparkles and cookies, sweet dreams and success for you!  
**

 **Thanks to the new favorites and followers of _Second Chance_! I'm still overwhelmed of the response to my story! I hope you can live with Shun Ra as new household member, because I have fun writing her so stuck-up and troublesome around Lenka *evil cackle***

 **Next time: Sinbad receives _punishment_ , Lenka throws a tantrum, Titus gets better and Foras knocks some sense in her queen.**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	31. Chapter 31

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **So Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OC to me, there might be references to this world, music etc, and spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far.**

 **A huge Thank you to Curlyfr13s for eliminating the spelling and grammar mistakes!**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Day 31 Talking about alliances

The field outside the crumbling Magnostadt walls was a bit scorched, but no one seemed to care. Kouen's face was a blank mask as he stared at Sinbad. The High King Of The Seven Seas smirked back at him. Both men were still covered with their respective djinn equip, as were the other dungeon capturers of the alliance surrounding them in a wide circle, with the Reim Soldiers at the right side of the imperial princes and princesses. Aladdin, Alibaba, Mor and Yamraiha were standing in front of them, a huge bird at their side, and Lenka was the connection between her adopted siblings and her friends from Kou. She was aware of the fact that she should be waiting next to Muu, Ignatius and Nerva, but the pleading glance of Kougyoku's had caused her to draw closer to the girl. The dark bruises and markings the overuse of the djinn equip had caused marred her pale skin and her half-brothers and cousin were in no better state. That was one of the reasons why Lenka herself still donned her armor, if one of the imbeciles were to attack her friends Orias would snatch them in seconds.

 _This is certainly awkward_ , the spirit stated. Lenka bit on the inside of her mouth and mentally nodded.

 _And complicated_.

Stupid Kouen for not backing off of Magnostadt. The imperial army had not even moved a mile away from the magicians' city when the Medium appeared, but instead started to build their camp and watched their royalty do the job.

Frowning deeply she flicked her claws against the bicep rings, sending a sign through the _ting ting ting_ that she was not in the least amused of the redhead's actions. Nor was Aladdin.

"Stop this! You promised to have your soldiers retreat, Uncle Kouen."

 _Be my uncle as well, or better, sugar daddy._

 _Hell no, Eligos!_

There was a silent staring contest between the Alliance members and the Ren family until Kouen finally spoke up.

"No. Our original objective was this place, Magnostadt. I did not want to employ Kou's metal vessel users to fight only against Reim. It just happened that our opponent changed."

 _'Only' against Reim. Oh, that's rich. We would have had to fight against him since we were still indebted to Scheherazade at that time. And damn you, what was that all about me coming to Kou as ambassador!? Do you think so lowly of me and my efforts!,_ Lenka ranted inwardly while the small Magi started yelling again. Great. Just great. She could almost smell the testosterone permeating the air. Orias was absolutely right. They barely scraped past a major, devastating, absolutely sub-optimal catastrophe and now Kouen revealed he would have fought whoever was available. Sometimes she wished she was allowed to pound the bloody morons into the ground, but the political drama such actions would cause...

"Those from the Kou empire still have a Magi and another dungeon capturer left." Darius Leoxses, Knight King of Sasan said with a glance towards Sinbad while the King of Heliohapt, Armakan, nodded slowly.

"I wonder if you are hiding a trump card..."

"We don't know if you are not hiding a trump card either," countered Koumei and Hakuei narrowed her eyes and raised her fan. Sinbad continued to smirk while Lenka's ears twitched when a low hum filled the air. Kougyoku's eyes glazed over and she slowly turned towards her brother – and blinked when the spell broke as Yunan hit the King of Sindria on the head. Magi's staffs were terrible weapons.

"Hey, stop this."

Sinbad glowered at his attacker, who ignored his antics with practiced ease.

"Why are you fooling around like this, Sinbad? We took all these precautionary measures so you wouldn't end up in a fight against the Kou Empire... right, Morgiana?"

The fanalis girl nodded sharply and Alibaba glanced curious at her.

"What are you talking about?"

The Alliance dungeon capturers assembled next and behind their leader who crossed his arms while donning his trademark smirk.

"The Alliance Of The Seven Seas and the Reim Empire have formed an official confederation."

Aladdin and Alibaba yelped in surprise while Lenka tilted her head in agreement and slight anger. Inwardly she was imagining how nice he would look without his hair. Not very much at all.

 _I guess getting warped all over the world threw me out of the loop._

"Scheherazade made the decision before going into her last battle," Muu said with a frown, looking downcast at the same time and Solomon, why was she not standing next to him right now? Political reasons. Damn politics.

Sinbad raised his arms and took a few steps forward in an attempt of intimidation. Her djinn started to jeer and throw darts, knives, daggers and even shuriken throwing stars at a picture of the man.

"There is no power other than the Alliance that could influence the balance between Reim and Kou. That is why we allied with Reim. Do you understand what I am saying?"

 _Oh yes, that you are a giant dick, you scaly bastard,_ Orobas growled and aimed his next dart at the nose while Lenka clenched and unclenched her hands. He was a strategist, that Sinbad, and he had set up his pieces magnificently. Everything that had happened up until now and most that would happen in the future would benefit him and his allies.

"Furthermore, how could I leave the country that my general Yamraiha's father has governed until now I such a state? I want to use all the power I have available to restore Magnostadt to it's former glory."

"He intends to seize Magnostadt all for himself!" exclaimed Kouha in shock. The others were as surprised as he was, but tried to hide it. A colorful tirade in a mixture of French, German and English escaped Lenka, basically telling him where to shove his good will and a few physically impossible suggestions how he should do that. Yamraiha shot her an odd glance.

"Which language was that?"

"Be glad you don't know."

Kouen blinked slowly, his face a calm, blank mask again.

"Well, in that case..."

Suddenly he had Aladdin tugged in his free arm like a child would hold a teddy bear, much to the confusion of the onlookers.

"I will be taking this Magi with me."

An universal scream of disbelief shook the earth at Kouen's boldness, not only from Alibaba, Lenka and Yamraiha but from his own siblings as well. Sinbad furrowed his brows but remained silent, even when the actually red-haired but now snake-haired prince grinned – or smirked creepily, it was hard to discern – at Aladdin who started shivering in terror.

"You promised me, right? And didn't you too, Lenka?"

Instantly all eyes were on her – as well as a spike of killing intent washing over her from the Reim side, but directed at him – but she ignored their glares and shrugged.

"If I remember correctly, our agreement was _if_ you helped us _and_ had your army retreat we would tell you about our worlds. You didn't fulfill half of your agreement, so we can do the same."

 _Bitch please,_ yelled Orobas and flipped the man off who scowled at her while disregarding Alibaba's efforts to free his friend and Kouha's to hinder him in any way possible. Lenka shook her head with a sigh then raised her silver stick and flicked it through the air, creating a wide dark blue rip in the fabric of the world that closed after a few seconds. However, this action was enough to get the attention she needed from the other dungeon capturers.

"People, everything would be much easier if you stopped your bickering for maximum ten minutes and just listened. Seriously. First things first, every party wants Magnostadt, right?"

She looked at Muu, Kouen and Sinbad with a raised brow, waiting for them to nod in agreement.

"Then _share_ it. Declare Magnostadt a neutral country and govern it through a council made up from representatives of the Alliance, Kou and Reim. They shall not fight against each other but form an union to re-build the city, the academy and technology. The three countries will be allowed to purchase the goods produced there, but the quantity will be limited. You may voice your interests through the representatives who will try to form a sufficient treaty.

You should compromise, and compromise means that not everyone gets fully what he wants, but a piece of the cake."

Lenka started to pace, six steps into the circle then back while shooting looks at the men and women around her.

"What you have seen now is the extent Al-Thamen will go to just to destroy us. They will turn innocent beings into Mediums for their sick goal of getting their god, their so called 'father' back. You have seen that you can defeat a Medium if you work together. You are stronger, can create better plans and more backup plans.

So why, why don't you get together and end the ones trying to destroy you!?

Kou is not your enemy, nor is Reim or the Alliance! _They_ are!"

She was only seconds away from screaming at them in her anger, her determination to make them question their way of acting, and they knew. She saw it in their eyes.

"Al-Thamen is our enemy! You all know that, yet why don't you do a thing against them? I know you tried, Sinbad, don't interrupt me," Lenka waved her clawed hand at the man who had opened his mouth to speak, "but now, here, in this moment, we can change something. We, fourteen dungeon capturers, their households plus the white Magi have just defeated an opponent that no one had encountered before. We won. Because we worked together.

I know what you're thinking, nice idea Lenka, but that's idealistic naive dream, and will never work? Newsflash, people, it just _did_. We can't keep going on like this!"

"Lenka," Yunan said when she inhaled, "remember the set course of events. You have said too much already."

"Fuck this!" she snarled back and the floor cracked under the force of her rampant emotions. "Fuck the course of events. I was brought here to change things. I tried my best to do so while not to interfere with the future. It didn't work. We still have got a fallen Magi with nothing but his desire to see the world burn, a lost child on the way to depravity because he witnessed how his family was burned alive by the bloody witch queen Arba Gyokuen, who will sacrifice everything existing to see her 'father' again. And you, the leaders of the three strongest factions, you would be able to end all the useless fighting after one day of negotiations! Yet you do do nothing but plot against each other! And that's why Al-Thamen just showed us what they could do _without active interference_!

We wouldn't have seen tomorrow if Yunan hadn't convinced the Alliance to come!

I tried to do it inconspicuously, it didn't work and now I'm willing to re-invent the atomic bomb to get the job done! Because if they don't do it, and you don't do it, who else will do it?

One has to do the first step, and I am willing to do something. Who else is?"

She stared at them for a few more seconds before sighing and shaking her head, the silver chains of her djinn equip clinking together at the motion.

"I am so sick of it. Not just of my own bloody incompetence, but yours as well. All of you want to achieve a world where people can be happy. Equal, as far as this is compatible with the human mindset. You use different means to do so, means that contradict. The easiest way would be for the Alliance, Reim and Kou to make an alliance to get rid of Al-Thamen, but nooo, that would be too easy.

We have just lost a Magi, people, a Magi. A honest-to-Solomon Magi. And they? What did they loose? Not even a single black Rukh!

Just what stops you? What is it?"

The last sentences were uttered in such a low voice they had to strain their ears to understand Lenka who then sighed again and looked at the sky where the magicians of Magnostadt appeared in a swarm of brooms – or staffs – similar to bees, then landed. She stepped back to have them surrender peacefully, aware that some of the other dungeon capturers continued to watch her. Artemina of Artemyria seemed to smirk encouragingly at her for a moment.

Aladdin immediately ran to a small group with a tanned teenage boy crying his eyes out and another one holding a pale girl. Sphintus and Marga. So Titus was dead at the moment. Lenka wondered how long it would take the next Magi to re-appear in this world and looked up at the sky.

Her eyes widened hen she spotted a familiar white cloth that lowered its altitude when one of the passengers jumped down and a few seconds later Miran slammed into her with enough force to make her stumble a few steps back and gave her a hug so tight she was sure she heard her ribs crack in protest.

"Lenka! You're alive!"

She chuckled slightly and carefully ruffled his hair with her clawed fingers.

"Of course I am. As if something like this could kill me."

He nodded but refused to let go of her until she canceled Orias' djinn equip, glad that her legs carried her weight again, and held him an arm's length away to look for injuries. Using Foras' power she healed a few nasty looking gashes on his face and arm and was about to tell him she was finished when she heard an angry yell.

"You!"

Lenka waved lazily at Kang Shun Ra who stomped through the Reim soldiers, the flying scarf wrapped around one arm and her bow in the other; her fringe was sticking up in a way that showed that she had been a bit too close to a shock wave or an explosion, perhaps both.

"Hey there, Shura. Good to see you are alive as well."

"Fix it!"

The bow was almost shoved in her face and Lenka raised her brow at the weapon. Looked like a genuine household vessel to her, nothing wrong with that.

"I don't think I can. Oh, don't throw a tantrum here, I just helped to defeat the blob of doom and am not in the mood to put up with it. Lady Scheherazade is dead, I'm low on _magoi_ and politics are a bloody nuisance."

She blushed bright red and tried crossing her arms, then decided the flying cloth had to be removed and tried throwing it at Miran. The scarf stayed in the air until Lenka pitied her, picked it up and wrapped it around her neck again.

"Thank you for protecting the citizens, both of you. I'm happy you are not seriously injured as well."

"Sure thing!" Miran grinned while Shun Ra blushed again and looked away.

"I didn't do it for you so no need to thank me... yeah..."

"I still do."

 _Watch out, dear._

Lenka turned around and her eyes narrowed when she saw Sinbad walking towards her. The man smiled friendly, still not having dropped his djinn equip, still attractive as hell, but his expression seemed to freeze when she didn't do as much as blink at him and only raised a brow.

"King Sinbad."

"Miss Lenka."

"So," she drawled, "do you need something? Or do you want to chat, for old time's sake? Since communication by letter didn't seem to work well on your part."

He flinched and flashes her a guilty smile.

"We seemed to have had several... issues regarding the exchange of information."

"What a nice way to put it. Tell me, did Ja'far proofread that letter you sent to Lady Scheherazade, regarding my... persona?"

The way he avoided eye-contact made it more than obvious that he hadn't. Lenka inhaled deeply, her fingers twitching with the urge to wrap around his neck and squeeze, or to slap him or punch his teeth out. And then she smiled at him. A wide, innocent smile that made him shiver with fear.

"That was the first and last time you screwed with my reputation among other nations, Sinbad," she informed him icily, pleased to see the tiniest glare on him. The crunch of debris under sandals caused her to look to the side at Ignatius Alexius, flanked by six soldiers of Reim. He nodded curtly and handed her a scroll and a note.

"Miss Lenka, Lady Scheherazade prepared this before the war. She believed you will see it as sufficient."

She smiled at him, scanned the note and smirked, then used Orias' power to pull a sealed letter into existence. Her smirk widened when she raised the two items to get the king's attention.

"Ja'far really hasn't read it? Then I have to change that. Orias, if you may?"

Scroll and letter disappear in a swirl of blue.

* * *

Ja'far's eyes narrowed at the message that had appeared from a black hole. The seal of Reim was proudly displayed on the scroll, but he could see the crest of Sindria next to it, the wax already broken. How peculiar. Instead he reached for the letter and opened it with one of his trusted wire-knives. His eyes narrowed even more at the familiar handwriting of Lenka. Smiling a little he continued to read but that smile dropped faster than a boulder in free fall before he hastily broke the wax on the scroll open and stood up fast enough to topple an hail of paper onto the floor.

Now he remembered just why this infuriating Magi of Al-Thamen and Kou continued to call Sinbad 'stupid king'. It was sad, but it suited him perfectly.

"Ja'far? I've got the books you wanted..." a nervous Sharrkan said from the doorstep. The ex-assassin wished he was there where his king was to kick his behind into next Tuesday. Instead he sighed gravely, handed the younger man the scroll and started an official decree prohibiting every shop, every stall, every tavern to sell Sinbad alcohol for the duration of three months after he returned from the eastern continent.

"Oh fuck," Sharrkan yelled at the missive.

"Exactly, and we just have achieved a treaty with Reim..." Ja'far really, really wanted to kill Sinbad, but the political backlash would be hell. Not to mention Reim's reaction to the letter...

"Oh fuck," gulped Sharrkan, realizing just what their king had done to them. And then:

"Does this decree count me in as well?"

* * *

Sinbad glared at Lenka, the air smelled like ozone and was heavy with energy. The horns of lightning on his head crackled ominously and his knuckles were white around the hilt of his sword, despite the green scales over them.

"Lenka. What have you done?" he growled while she felt the satisfaction and eagerness of her djinn bubble under her own skin.

"I sent your letter to Ja'far."

His eyes widened almost comically when she continued her explanation.

"I noticed that whatever I would do to you personally would have repercussions, so I did it indirectly. An eye for an eye."

"Reim cares for her allies," Ignatius said with an half-lidded glance at Sinbad who looked ready to explode in a shower of electric sparks. He was really vibrating with anger.

"I'm not going to say 'told you so', but don't forget Balbadd, and then Judar in Sindria. I like to do things unconventionally and if you still think you could do something against that..."

Lenka shrugged and smiled at the man.

"Well, I won't advise it."

 _We would want to see you suffer more, but the fact that all your household members will know by now, Kou knows, Reim knows and everyone who will ask us will know what an asshole you are,_ Foras cracked her knuckles.

 _Well, it's been nice to know you, stupid king. Adios, good reputation!_

His eyes narrowed to angry slits but the impact of wood on skull interrupted them. Yunan clicked his tongue and shook his finger at them, his staff of punishment having found the favorite target yet again.

"Sinbad, what is this all about? Lenka is a dungeon capturer of Reim. Have you forgotten how hard we have worked to get the confederation with Reim? This is the second time today I have to remind you of that. Are you perhaps getting old? Your ears failing? There are some adept life magicians over here..."

"I'm not getting old!"

"Every person ages, Sinbad, but those who deny this fact are often the ones most ignorant of their weakening bodies."

A vein pulsed dangerously on the king's forehead.

"Yunan..."

The Magi blinked then calmly walked over to Lenka, grabbed her right arm and leaned against her.

"Safe zone."

"Let go! Yunan!" she hissed while Miran's death glare wandered from Sinbad, who exhaled in relief, to the new threat to his Lenka. The man blinked owlishly down at him then moved even closer to her.

"Wife mine, why is he staring at me like that?"

"I am not! Your! Wife!"

Suddenly she was the focus of everyone's attention, but the Magi didn't seem to care. At all.

"Aw. So cold," he whined and peered up at her face, eyes big and shining with unshed tears, lower lip quivering pitifully. The traveler didn't know how old he was, but perfecting this expression must have taken longer than than a lifetime. Her resolve started to waver so she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself by listening to Orobas' yelling.

"Yunan, We have had this discussion already. I am not married to you. I am not married to anyone. And that will not change. Do you understand?"

He pouted. Honest to Solomon pouted at her. Seriously, did every Magi have an adorable pouting face? Was it required for the job? She should check Titus' when he got better.

"I got you two dungeons."

"Judar did, too. And Lady Scheherazade as well. I am not married to them either."

"We would kill you or him first," Miran piped in, glare intensifying again.

"But this will be a lot easier, now that I've got an underling."

"Underling?"

Lenka looked around until she found Shun Ra, who looked less than amused and more embarrassed than she had her seen up until now. Gripping her household vessel tightly as if it was the rope that would get her out of the situation the girl shook her head then continued to stare wide-eyed at Sinbad, clearly amazed that she was this close to the High King of the Seven Seas. The blonde nodded in agreement then said:

"Have you even asked her about the underling thing? She doesn't seem to agree with you.

Well, back to the topic."

She glanced at Yunan who was still glued to her arm.

"Why would you even want to marry me?"

"A good question," Sinbad agreed, causing her to scowl at him.

"You shut up, you were the first to ask after all. Lord Ignatius, I think you missed your cue to leave several times already."

The man seemed to smile at her, enjoying her despair, but that was probably her imagination.

"I believe I am exactly where I should be, as you are currently negotiating with the King of Sindria and the esteemed Magi Yunan."

 _'Esteemed' my ass,_ Orobas scoffed.

 _Negotiating, as if,_ Foras agreed.

Lenka wanted to cry. Somehow things kept getting out of hand and she was not sure if she was being paid enough to keep up with it. It was time to change that. She sighed and rubbed her face with her free hand before talking again.

"Then let's get this done so I can focus on the funny things. Sinbad, we are going to behave like mature adults now. No lies, no dirty campaigns against the other, no more shady schemes. If you have a problem with me, then tell me so. I'll do the same.

Wait, we have had that conversation before, right?"

"You said something similar to Prince Nerva when you were introduced to Lady Scheherazade," Ignatius offered. She nodded slowly while fixating her eyes on Sinbad and held out her right hand.

"Do we have a deal?"

He stared at her for several more seconds before reaching out and taking her hand. And the smirk was back again as well, she noticed.

"Deal."

 _I still want to see him suffer._

 _Eligos too._

 _Do you think we can somehow get footage from Valefor? How he gets mauled by Ja'far?_

 _Well, that would be extremely satisfying._

Orobas, Eligos and Ronové shared a devious grin. Lenka nodded again, let go of Sinbad's hand then looked at Yunan who was watching the exchange with a gentle smile.

"You could give me king candidate status. You'll be dragged into this mess either way, as Mor's teacher..."

"Ah, don't worry about me, Lenka," the Magi chuckled and let go of her arm, straightened his hat and started to float.

"I will look after my student now, to see if she has settled in with the fanalis corps..."

"Myron will love her to death," she joked then turned towards the men left with her.

"If you would excuse me now, I have to talk to the Kou faction. See you around, King Sinbad, Lord Ignatius."

She grabbed Shun Ra, who thankfully had snapped out of her staring, and dragged her over to the Ren family. Miran followed them, but not without a last glare to Sinbad. Kougyoku smiled shyly at her when Lenka stopped in front of Kouen. The man stopped listening to the murmured advices of his brother and raised a brow.

"What?"

"This is my latest household member, Kang Shun Ra," she introduced. The girl blushed bright red and bowed deeply. She would have cowered in front of him, but the hand on her arm prevented that.

"The problem is: Shun Ra is from Hang village on the Kanan plains. So she is a citizen of Kou."

"Indeed," Koumei agreed from behind his fan. Lenka smiled and raised a finger.

"But if she is my household member, doesn't she belong to me then?"

"What?" Shun Ra yelled then clasped her mouth shut, eyes darting embarrassed and fearfully to the two Kou princes. When they stared back down at her she flinched and hid behind Lenka, just to remember that she actually didn't like the blonde woman. In the end she decided that that point was irrelevant and she was safest where she was now.

Kouen smirked at Lenka and tilted his head towards the girl who shivered in response.

"She seems to like you. You can keep her."

"Eh!?"

"Aw, don't cry, Shura, we'll treat you nicely," chuckled Miran and reached up to smooth her hair down. The girl blushed bright red in response then tried to hit him with her bow. Lenka shook her head and grinned wryly at the men.

"Kids these days. So, when were you going to tell me that you really, really want Magnostadt for yourself?"

"He really, really wants Magnostadt for himself," Koumei responded with a yawn. Kouen scowled at him for the better part of a minute, realized that his brother had fallen asleep while standing and whacked him upside the head. Koumei woke with a startled gasp then started coughing due to choking in mid-snore.

 _Well, that was a whole new level of pathetic._

 _Shut it Ronové, you are not better,_ reprimanded Foras. The other djinn hid in a corner of the living room to sulk. Lenka sighed and shook her head before staring at the first prince.

"Inform me of such plans. Reim and Kou could have agreed on sharing governing rights over Magnostadt, but thanks to your display of being not able to compromise it fell to the Alliance. That was the reason I was visiting in the first place."

"I see," Kouen nodded.

"You don't," Lenka deadpanned.

"Or else you would have not done something as stupid as 'I didn't want to employ Kou's metal vessels only against Reim'.

I am an ambassador of Reim. I was at your capital to convince you not to fight against Reim. You still said you would fight against Reim. Clearly you didn't think this over."

He scowled at her now, clearly not agreeing with her way of showing him the errors of his way. Lenka glared back, raised her hand and poked him with her right index finger, Foras' ring glowing red.

"You plan on fighting Reim? Fine, I'll kick your ass into next Wednesday in a battle. One-on-one, we don't want to get the innocent involved. And don't you dare thinking you've seen everything I've got up my sleeve. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Koumei said and yanked his brother away from her finger of gender bender for a whispered conversation that no, he would not support a fight against Reim and no, he would not change his opinion and yes, that could have ended badly, with a capital B.

Kougyoku tip-toed to her friend's side, glanced at her arguing – or rather lecturing – brothers then at Lenka.

"Did you threaten him with the ring?"

"Only the ring?"

The princess sighed and hid her face behind her sleeve to rub her temples.

"I knew I should know better by now, but still."

"He had it coming," Lenka shrugged and smiled at the other.

"Are you feeling better?"

Kougyoku nodded and lowered her sleeves.

"A bit. I don't want to think about how much worse I would be if you didn't reminded me that the ocean was right under us."

The blonde started to grin. A difference from the set course of events. She hadn't even noticed.

"Hakuei didn't do a refill with all the wind?"

"No, she needs an actual storm for that. Brother Koumei and Brother Kouha had it even worse."

"Good thing I could share a bit of my _magoi_ with them."

Miran skipped over to them, Shun Ra following him with a nervous blush that turned into a wide-eyed gape when the boy grinned cheekily at the eight imperial princess.

"Hey there, Miss Kougyoku! Are you all right?"

"A little tired. It was an eventful day," she admitted with a smile then reached out to pat his head. Shun Ra's jaw dropped a few more inches. Miran giggled, patted her sleeve back and blinked at his guardian.

"I want to go over to the fanalis corps. Can I? You should come over later as well. We haven't seen them since the dungeon conquest. You have some explaining to do," he smirked at her, waved and dashed away. Lenka gulped as she watched his small form disappear in the crowd then looked back at Kougyoku who raised her brows expectantly.

"Is your betrothed here? Where?"

"He's not... we are not... the fanalis dungeon capturer of Reim over there."

"I see," cooed the other and smothered a giggle in her sleeve then got back to business.

"Go and apologize for not sending him a letter."

Lenka stared incredulously at her.

"How do you you know?"

"I know you. Plus I have a spy with you."

"Miran?"

"Amongst others," Kougyoku admitted vaguely then glanced at Shun Ra, who blushed red and looked down immediately.

"A second household member?"

"And your brother allowed me to keep her."

"Brother Kouen can be very considerate."

"I wonder if my siblings admire me as much as you admire him," Lenka mused. They chatted a bit longer – Shun Ra was forced to tell them how she had activated her household vessel, which was done with much stuttering and blushing on her part – until the blonde had to squint against the light of the setting sun. Orange, red, peachy pink over the ocean that mirrored the sky and the dark blotches of the arriving airships...

 _Seems like we have got a Magi back,_ said Orias. She sighed and stretched her arms then looked at her companions.

"What a day. Anyone else thinking we should get paid for this hassle?"

"There is not enough money in the world to pay me for the horrors you put me through already," Shun Ra pouted and crossed her arms, blushed then paled when she remembered that she was in royal company and sent the princess a disbelieving look when Kougyoku giggled softly behind her sleeve.

"I am sure you will come to understand Lenka's behavior in the future. It is not that irrational, but rather..."

"Haphazard? Impulsive? Confusing? Immature?"

"Hey, I have a plan, it's you who take so long to understand it!"

… _no, it is exactly like they said,_ Gusion nodded slowly.

 _We love you either way,_ Orobas added hastily. Ronové snickered from his sulking corner.

 _Suck up._

 _It's called survival instinct, something you are lacking greatly._

 _Eligos thinks the pot is calling the kettle back._

… _indeed._

"The alliance forces are retreating already," Kougyoku said and watched several of the great birds take off but the other dungeon capturer shook her head.

"The majority will stay here to built Magnostadt anew."

"A shame."

Lenka snorted disbelievingly.

"haven't you heard your brother saying he would have attacked Reim forces? I would have had to fight that stubborn idiot."

"I know," Kougyoku sighed deeply then smiled at her friend.

"I don't think he would have started a war against Reim while you were allied with them. I saw you fighting today and I must admit, I wouldn't be able to face you in a battle. I don't fight my friends to defeat them."

"Aw."

She pulled the younger woman into a well-deserved hug.

"Cute. I don't want to fight against you either. And I'm still allied with Reim, so the possibility is still there."

"Koumei wants to buy your services with a province of the empire."

"He can try. I'm not giving in to bribe," she chuckled then used Foras' power to manipulate Kougyoku's cells to heal the damage done by over-using her djinn equip.

A commotion from the Reim side caught their attention. Lenka caught glimpses of gold, the excited flutter of the Rukh greeting a new Magi, and smiled at the joyful outburst when Aladdin, Sphintus and Marga greeted their friend.

 _Wait a second, guys. If he was dead, a skeleton, and is now back in flesh and blood, isn't he an undead? Eligos is confused..._

The other djinn groaned then Gusion explained her why Titus was not an Undead but had been reborn, or reincarnated. Lenka chuckled at that then raised her brow at Kougyoku who poked her side to get her attention. The princess' eyes sparkled with mirth.

"I believe it's time you go back to the Reim side. Don't worry, I'll be fine with my brothers."

"Err..."

 _Lenka, go,_ Foras commanded with a low hiss while Kougyoku's eyes narrowed as well.

"You know, this is all for your good, right?"

And she reached up for her hairpin. Lenka yelped, nodded fast then walked over to where the new Magi was, her stomach cringing nervously.

* * *

 _Remember the plan,_ Foras hummed in the back of her mind then the djinn severed the connection between her and the spirits. Great. Now she was alone inside her head. Lenka really hadn't realized how much she was used to the bickering in the background. Now that she was closer to the children she could see that Aladdin was introducing his old friends to his new ones. Titus was hugging Marga tightly to him while the girl peeked up at Morgiana, who was looking back equally curious, Aladdin danced around Sphintus who was talking to Alibaba. Miran was there as well, standing next to Mor, grinning wide at the commotion. When he spotted her, his eyes wandered to Muu Alexius. The man stood close to the gaggle of children, observing his new Magi closely, almost as if he was a miracle. Which Titus certainly was.

Her stomach did another flip then dropped to her knees when he turned towards her. His eyes widened, then narrowed and he quickly walked up to Lenka, who was playing Rock, Paper, Scissors against herself whether or not to run away when he stopped in front of her.

"Where have you been?"

She blinked then rubbed the side of her ruby ring.

"Foras' dungeon transported me to the capital of Kou. I'm sorry I was not able to write a letter to explain things to you."

"You missed the war against Magnostadt," he continued, and her stomach dropped even lower.

"The next dungeon got me to Artemyria and Yunan took his time to get me back to the eastern continent. I was here since the first attack of the black djinn."

"The dungeon was more important than Reim?"

"No," Lenka growled, feeling her patience run out, "the fact that the dungeon was abducting innocent people was more important for me than to get here and kill more innocent people than I could save. I'm sorry," she repeated when his expression stayed the same, hard, unflinchingly. Cold. He shouldn't look at her like this. Lenka took a step back and exhaled slowly.

"Look, I can understand that you are angry with me-," she yelped in surprise when she was pulled into a tight embrace. Muu sighed and buried his face in her hair while his arms wrapped protectively around Lenka. As if he wanted to never let her go again.

"I was worried, you know?"

Lenka was sure her face was glowing a magnificent shade of cherry red in the dark, but nightfall and the bonfires did their best to cover that. She felt her shoulders relax and a warm flutter replacing the uneasiness she had felt before. Returning the hug she leaned against him, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"I missed you. You were under my care and then disappeared."

"I missed you too. I'm sorry."

His chuckle vibrated through his armor and one hand began to rub her back.

"How many times will you tell me you're sorry?"

"... I honestly have no idea, but that's nothing new, isn't it?"

"Indeed."

"Can you let me go? They are staring at us."

"I know."

"You don't care?" Lenka asked with a frown. The stares made her uneasy again.

"I don't."

Either way he took one step back to give her the chance to get the blush under control.

"Will you come to Reim after this is over?"

She nodded slowly and was rewarded with a wide, happy grin that brought a smile to her face as well. He still wanted her back, even though she had disappeared without a word.

"I think I will extend my contract, if Titus allows me to do so."

"I do, no worries," came the cheerful reply from a few meters away and the adults both flinched. Titus smiled at them, eyes sparkling with mirth and the wisdom of centuries.

"I'm glad you will continue to work with us in the future, Miss Lenka."

Aladdin beamed at her.

"I was surprised to hear that Titus knows you, it was really funny. I thought he was a girl at first," he admitted cheerfully. Lenka grinned down at the two Magi and cocked her head to the side.

"I heard the rumour he is, on the level of the Rukh anyways."

Titus shrugged then tugged his makeshift curtain dress back up.

"It doesn't really matter. I am me, Titus Alexius, second Magi of Reim. Nothing more, nothing less."

He blinked surprised.

"That was a very mature thing to say."

Marga giggled and hugged his midriff tightly.

"I'll stay with you either way."

Miran raised a brow and glanced hopeful at his guardian.

"Back to Remano?"

"Back we go."

The boy nodded gravely, but she could see that he was barely able to contain his joy.

"Good. No more running." He pointed at the adults.

"You and you, sort this out. I'll go and talk to Myron. I'll take it we are staying here for a few more days?"

"Not more than three," Titus said and scrunched his nose.

"I just remembered I left the paperwork unattended. Or rather, my mother did. This is actually quite confusing. I know what she did and what I did. Anyway," he looked at his dungeon capturers, "I feel fine now. Sphintus and Aladdin are here with me, they will take care of me if something happens."

Muu saluted with a smile then turned to Lenka.

"Shall we go?"

Lenka stared a few seconds at the hand he offered her then nodded and took it. The comfortable feeling was still there, despite the odd circumstances, and she thanked the logic of space, gravity and the rotation of planets that it was dark now. No one could see her red face being so red, it was all the fire's fault... Solomon this was awkward.

Stopping well outside the hearing range of the majority of normal humans she peered up at him.

"So, how do we do this? Do we continue from the point I left or start anew?"

Muu smiled at her and squeezed her fingers.

"That is yours to decide."

Lenka scowled then sighed and rubbed her temple with her free hand.

"You know I'm an idiot from another dimension with a mission from Solomon so... oh, fudge explaining things."

She wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him down into a kiss.

 _Good girl,_ Foras murmured in the back of her head when they broke apart and she smiled warmly at him.

"I'll leave a note when I'm off to save the world again."

"How much time do I have until then?" he asked and placed his hands on her waist. Lenka shrugged and grinned happily, a myriad of butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

"A few months I think."

Muu nodded in agreement and leaned down again.

"Then I have to plan accordingly."

"So we get to hold a wedding?" a voice asked from the sideline, causing Lenka to jump out of the embrace in shock. Apparently Miran had told the fanalis corps that their beloved captain and the blonde dungeon capturer were about to make up and out and of course they wanted to see them. Still that didn't explain the two child Magi, Alibaba, Sphinthus and Marga being dragged into this as well. The older teens were beet red, especially Shun Ra, who was in a choke hold, courtesy of Miran, who donned a shit-eating grin. Myron was holding her hands in front of Morgiana's eyes, grinning almost as wide as Lolo who gave Muu a thumbs up.

"Well done captain!"

"Aw, so cute."

 _You have very few options now,_ Foras said calmly.

 _Faint, laugh hysterically or hide your blushing face in his gorgeous hair._

Lenka took option four. Intimidation.

"You have exactly ten seconds to run before I start throwing fire balls at you."

Naturally they were fast enough to dodge them all. Damn fanalis reflexes.

* * *

 **Chaper 31 done! I feel like dancing right now. Virtal hugs and brownies to my amazing reviewers! To the wonderful persons who have favorited Second Chance, and the awesome followers. Best Presents ever.  
**

 **The next chapter will be posted on March 27! Until then, stay happy and healthy and don't eat too much cake, because I know I will do tomorrow :D**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


	32. Chapter 32

**Hello everyone out there!**

 **Magi belongs to Shinobu Ohtaka, my OCs to me, there might be references to this world, music etc and spoilers for those who haven't read the manga this far.**

 **A huge thank you to the awesomeness that is Curlyfr13s for eliminating spelling and grammar mistakes!**

 **Even so, have a fun time reading!**

* * *

Chapter 32 Waiting for the summit

The aftermath of the war was chaotic, but Titus did his best to prevent another catastrophe. Leaving Ignatius as the Senior dungeon capturer and general at the scene to have him deal with the rebuilding of the city and the alliance, the new Magi of Reim ordered the majority of the soldiers to return to the motherland. Those who doubted the boy at first were more than surprised with how efficient Titus wrapped his business up, ordering people around and manipulating like a master of the subject. After an heartbreaking scene he, Marga and Sphintus parted with Aladdin who stayed behind a bit longer, while Lenka said her good-bye to Alibaba, Mor, Yunan – which turned into a glaring contest again – and the remaining Ren family members, Kouha and Kouen – more glaring from Miran – before they boarded the ship, three days after the defeat of the Medium.

Of course they had to take a ship back to Reim.

Lenka was not the only one seasick, and she was very happy about that. Shun Ra, a girl born and raised on the flat, seemingly endless plains of Kou had never set a foot on a boat before, not to mention a battleship like the one they were traveling to Reim with. Another person that was very happy about that was Sphintus Carmen. The life magician had a colorful assortment of potions and several spells to test on them, all within a reasonable field of expertise, of course. Miran told her later that the teen had yelled "For science!" at one point, but she had been busy hanging over the railing at that occasion.

Muu was not thrilled with her volunteering as guinea pig but when Miran shared the story how Lenka would rather jump into dungeons than board a ship the man all but threatened Sphintus to hurry up and find a cure. To say the Magnostadt student was miffed was understatement, but Lenka and Shun Ra were free from sea-sickness not even an hour later, the process maybe sped up due to Muu standing in a corner of Sphintus' cabin and workplace and glaring at the magician. Titus laughed hard when he listened to his friend's angry rants about Reim's insolent fanalis dungeon capturer, but scolded Muu the same evening.

"It was really strange when he told me 'And to think you were such an adorable child'," he complained to Lenka about his meeting with the Magi afterwards. The three dungeon capturers Muu, Nerva and Lenka had their own cabins for themselves, as well as Titus as the Magi who shared with Marga, and Sphintus as his doctor. Since she was sharing hers with her household and Shun Ra wanted to go to sleep early - being seasick was tiring after all - the blonde was forced to relocate for couple time.

Lenka pressed her hand on her mouth to muffle her giggles. The look on his face was priceless!

"This is no laughing matter."

"S-sorry," she hiccuped and leaned against him.

"I just imagined your reaction when he said that..."

Muu nodded, trying not to cringe at the memory.

"It was like talking to Lady Scheherazade again."

"Remember, he has inherited her memories," Lenka hummed and wrapped a strand of his hair around one finger, "and is now busy figuring out who exactly he is. I think the personality 'Titus' is really overworked and confused, that's why he will sometimes act like Lady Scheherazade, because he knows what she did in a similar situation. It's a good thing Sphintus and Marga came with us, they know the 'old' Titus, and he will act like himself around them. In a few days he will be fine again for sure."

"So when he reprimanded me," he said, lips twitching upwards into a grin.

"He did what his mother would have done," Lenka finished the sentence and started laughing again, Muu joining her this time then pulled her onto his lap. She leaned back, occasionally giggling, and laced her fingers with his before looking up and raising a brow at his wide grin. He shook his head and squeezed her fingers in return. His smile gradually changed into a faraway expression so Lenka turned her head and kissed his cheek.

"Whatever you are thinking right now, out with it. I don't like seeing you sad. It doesn't suit you."

"I'm happy we survived the war, but the death toll... so many could have been saved if Titus hadn't decided to abandon the plan."

"It's human to not want to die. How would you feel, if you had been raised in an empty room and were to suddenly start living actively, seeing all the things you had only heard about, finding friends who care about you and accept you without prejudice, a place to live, and then confronted with a time limit?

I would have tried to grasp every straw if I were in his shoes as well."

Muu sighed and hugged her closer.

"I know. I just... I wish I could have done more."

Lenka turned as much as she could to scowl at him.

"You did everything you could, Muu. I'm sure of that. You wouldn't be you if you hadn't given your best to protect Reim and its people. Don't let it drag you down."

She leaned against him again while he was thinking about her words. Minutes passed in which she simply listened to the waves outside, basking in the warmth of her... could she call him boyfriend?

 _Yes, idiot,_ Foras face palmed at her conqueror's stupidity. Lenka blushed and was about to answer when Muu buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"Thank you."

She hummed her agreement then squeaked when he nipped affectionately at her skin. One of his hands left hers and traveled upwards to cup her face before kissing her. They didn't get any further as suddenly the door opened and Titus glared in.

"Nothing happens on this ship. Nothing. Have I made myself clear?"

The two adults blushed under the Magi's stern glare and nodded, utterly mortified, before Lenka climbed from Muu  
s lap to sit at the other end of the bed. Titus nodded approvingly at her action.

"Good. Sleep well, Muu, Lenka. And by sleep I mean sleep, nothing else."

The door slammed shut and Lenka tried to smother herself in the pillow Muu handed her.

* * *

Two days passed and Titus was Titus again, as far as Lenka knew. Thank Solomon for Marga, who had told her friend slash older brother figure slash caretaker slash everything she was working for in life that he sounded like a granny when he asked her not to run around so much. Horror-stricken the blond had looked at Sphintus, who only shrugged and replied "It's true, almost like my own grandmother," around his pipe.

Due to therapeutic exposure to the fanalis' corps on the same boat - who were slowly getting stir-crazy from being confined to the narrowness of the ship and thus were perhaps even louder than usual - Reim's new Magi was soon cured of behaving like an elderly person. Much to the three dungeon capturers' relief, because getting used to Titus as their Magi would be less painful as if he were not to behave like Scheherazade. They all had more or less forgiven the boy for betraying Reim, and he appreciated the trust they had in him.

Miran had set out to befriend Titus, Marga and Sphintus, dragging Shun Ra with him. The girl from Kou almost got in a fight with Sphintus, as they were both rather head-strong teenagers, but were forced to settle their differences when Titus attempted to prove his maturity and reconcile them. Then Lenka dropped by to get stories of Aladdin out of the magician, and Sphintus, happy that there was someone willing to listen to his rants about the younger child and their adventures, wouldn't stop talking for hours; Shun Ra then decided that she could have had it worse, especially after she met Nerva. Her dungeon capturer was at least nice, if somewhat crazy.

Even so she was more than a tad nervous when they finally arrived in Remano, the party separated and Lenka led her newest household member to the house she owned. The citizens smiled and waved at them like they were important persons, no one seemed to be offended because she clearly didn't look like she belonged here. Belatedly Shun Ra realized that yes, Lenka was indeed an important person, and yes, she had spent days on the same ship as Reim's most powerful and perhaps influential people! She almost ran into the blonde when they stopped at a white building close to a busy market square.

"It's a little dusty at the moment, but we can take care of that easily. There is a third room upstairs we can prepare for you," she told Shun Ra and closed the door behind them. Miran sneezed and rubbed his nose.

"I don't think you have a djinn that can help us?"

"Unless you want to burn the house to the ground, freeze it in crystal, suck it into a black hole, fry it with lightning or have the amoeba in the dust grow and mutate into nightmarish monsters, no," replied Lenka then walked into the kitchen to search for a duster, Miran following her. Shun Ra remained where she was, on the doormat, and simply looked around. It was a nice house, she admitted, different from the ones she knew from her childhood, completely foreign in their architecture. Homesickness caused her stomach to churn and her eyes to tingle so she rubbed them to stop the tears from falling.

"Are you alright?"

She turned her head and looked at Miran who stared at her questioningly, but not unfriendly. The boy puzzled and annoyed her to no end. Sometimes he would act older than he was, and nothing could escape his attention, then he was a child again, asking strange questions and playing games.

"I've got dust in my eye," she answered with a shrug. Miran nodded, then grinned and nearly shoved the feather duster he was holding in her face, and ew, dirty feathers in her mouth!

"Then this is yours, Shura. Good luck."

"You brat! Wait until I get you!"

"You will never catch me!"

Lenka smiled and started cleaning the cooking place while her household ran through the house, screaming, laughing and sneezing, and hoped they would stay this childish for a while longer.

* * *

Titus let them settle in for four days then called his dungeon capturers for a meeting in the palace of the Sacerdos Maximus, formerly the palace of the Sacerdos Maxima. It had been renamed when he had been introduced to the citizens of Remano as Scheherazade's son and successor as the Magi. The public funeral service would be held in a few more days, and he was glad beyond measure that Marga and Sphintus were here with him; alone he wouldn't have been able to cope with the sudden pressure from the emperor, senate and other officials.

Muu picked Lenka up after breakfast to walk with her to the building where they surprisingly met Ignatius; apparently he had been summoned per teleportation circle to attend the meeting.

Titus led them to Scheherazade's office which would have looked like it did when the old Magi was alive, but the stacks of unfinished work growing from the table and the floor turned it into a secretary's nightmare. Ignoring the towers of paperwork Titus walked through the room to a group of seats next to a balcony from where Lenka could see the rooftops of the city. The boy carefully sat down and smirked triumphantly when his heavy purple robes didn't crinkle, then connoted his dungeon capturers to sit as well.

"Now that we are all here we can discuss the outcome of the Magnostadt war. As you know, we are far from our intended goals, but we have made minor achievements."

Ignatius nodded.

"The rebuilding of Magnostadt with the Alliance proceeds smoothly. Due to the enormous changes of the surrounding landscape after the battle the transportation of resources depends mostly..."

 _Thanks to Mount Kouen,_ Orobas snickered and she had to hide her grin at the commentary.

 _Did they name it yet?_

 _Probably something very uncreative. It will be still Mount Kouen in Eligos' mind, forever and ever after._

Lenka shook her head at her djinn's fangirlish behaviour then continued to listen to the report on the situation. At some point Titus sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I don't know whether or not to be impressed with Sinbad's scheming."

"Try being pissed off," Lenka suggested and the new Magi inclined his head with a mischievous grin.

"Or to be better than him."

"Lucky Titus, having all those memories will pay off in the future. So many plans that could work, so much blackmail on people..."

"A shame we didn't get Magnostadt," he agreed cheekily.

"You would have made a great governor with that mindset."

Lenka blinked in confusion at Titus then her eyes widened and she jumped from her chair in shock.

"You would have given me _Magnostadt_?!"

"I don't see why either," Nerva sneered, receiving a scolding glance from Ignatius and a Death Glare from Muu, but Titus nodded, still looking slightly upset because Scheherazade's plan hadn't worked out.

"If Reim had managed to get ahold of Magnostadt we would have been almost unassailable. My mother had planned to make you governor because you told her you had a relative there, plus the fact that your body and Rukh are special. The magicians would be very interested in that. Given that both Kou and the Alliance wanted to conquer the country as well for the power of the magic devices we could have put them to a hold through trade, since you are acquaintances with the Ren family."

"And the stupid king wouldn't have dared attacking Reim because I could ask Kouen for a temporary treaty with them," Lenka concluded then made a face.

"Plus you would have had tied me to Reim until death this way. Not to mention that you would have tried to help me recreate the technology of my world, resulting in more money for Reim. And Kouen would have tried to marry one of his siblings to me. Again. I've told him no, and not to sell his siblings as if they were objects," she hastily calmed Muu who looked as if he seriously considered how to maim the first price of Kou if they were to meet again.

"Lady Scheherazade thought is was worth a try. Sadly it didn't work."

Titus managed to look apologetic under Ignatius' glance, forcing Lenka to reach over and pat his head.

"There, there. No need to think of a future that certainly won't happen now."

He beamed at her then looked at the men in the room.

"What do you think we should do now? You are my seniors in this field after all."

"The meeting the Magi requested is in two months," Ignatius said.

"I will oversee the soldiers left on the eastern continent until they have safely departed to the motherland. The teleportation circle is set to bring me to Magnostadt as soon as this meeting is finished."

Titus nodded in agreement and handed Ignatius a letter he had picked up from one of the paper towers.

"Give this one to the Carmen clan, Sphintus' family. I requested their aid in taking care of my health, in case something is wrong and hasn't been noticed yet."

"As you wish, Lord Titus."

"Nerva, could you gauge the reactions of the other noble families to me as Magi and... just do what you did for Scheherazade."

"As you wish, Lord Titus."

 _He's got them whipped already,_ Eligos snickered and Lenka raised her brow at the djinn.

 _You can't say that now, Eligos. It will take a few more months for everything to run smoothly again._

 _But you can't deny he's doing his very best right now,_ said Foras. The blonde sent her spirits a feeling of agreement with their words then spoke up.

"I don't know what I can do for you, Titus, but I'm willing to help you and Reim as much as possible."

Muu smiled at her and looked at his Magi.

"The fanalis corps will stand loyal to you, as do I."

Titus smiled back at them.

"Thank you. Muu, Lenka, I want you two to travel to Balbadd and negotiate with Ren Kouen again. If we manage to get a ceasefire treaty with them as well Reim will be safe from all sides."

"Why do you want to sent the two of them? One would be sufficient," Nerva asked and Lenka rolled her eyes.

"Muu will be going because he can do the talking better than I can, and I will go to stop him from maiming Kouen for whatever he said and did to aggravate him in the past, for proclaiming war on Reim and stuff. And to bait him with knowledge, since he wouldn't attack when I still haven't told him about about pancakes, the wonders of the internet and why we have night and day."

"Ah..."

Clearly he didn't know about pancakes. Titus on the other hand sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"I will have to talk to the emperor about this, but estimate to leave in about three weeks time for Balbadd."

"As you wish, Lord Titus."

"Don't worry, we can do this," Lenka replied with a smile.

"As for the summit, I'm sure Yunan will appear shortly before to borrow you for a great and intimidating entrance, probably seconds before a world war breaks out between the Alliance of the Seven Seas and Kou."

"How reassuring," Ignatius said dryly.

"And then we will have to make them agree to Aladdin's plans to save the world without killing either Sinbad or Kouen for being stubborn idiots."

"Suddenly I wish I listened to mother," murmured Titus, causing her to reach out and pat his hair again.

"We will be there with you, Titus."

"If they try to threaten you they will have to get through the fanalis corps first," Muu promised, and an excited smile appeared on Titus' face when he imagined what could happen to them.

"But what if they have somehow managed to come past you?"

"They won't, because I will protect you with my life."

"But if you run out of _magoi_?"

"I will fill him up again, because I will know how to use Ronové's draining until then," reassured Lenka.

"And no one can do a thing against the power of the ring of gender-bender, not even a Magi. They will be too busy sorting out how to walk in a straight line to attacking you. Trust me, I did a trial run with Judar, and he was not happy."

… _he was rather disturbed,_ muttered Gusion.

 _And what then happened was disturbing._

"I think I will be safe then."

 _Not mentally, little one. Not mentally._

 _Would it, hypothetically, work on Titus? His Rukh are female, but his body is male, would it still change?_ asked Eligos. Lenka scowled at her.

 _You do nothing to Titus, understood?_

 _Eligos would never! Besides, it's Foras who gender-benders people into insanity!_

 _No one does anything not beneficial to Titus?_ Orias offered.

"But what if they make you take off the djinn metal vessels in order to attend the summit?" Titus asked suddenly.

"I will simply smuggle my earring in and don't tell anyone it is a vessel," Lenka shrugged then tilted her head to the side when the men stared at her with wide eyes.

"Aw, come on, it's a good idea! I can still do the take-over if nothing else works. No one wants to fight a real djinn who can absorb your energy in the matter of seconds, and the Magi are safe either way."

"Somehow I am very glad you are on our side, Miss Lenka. A master of six metal vessels is a force not many want to oppose."

Muu grinned at his relative then at the woman next to him.

"They won't know what hit them."

… _and the madness is spreading. And I won't do a thing against that.  
_

 _Why so?_ asked Ronové and the other djinn grinned wide, causing him to flinch back and hide in a corner.

 _Because it's amusing._

 _Welcome to my reality,_ Orias greeted from behind the couch.

 _You will never leave again._

* * *

 **Chapter 32, people! Rather short this time due to writer's block and real life, but the next one will be longer. The latest chapters of Magi... whoa. The final battle against Sinbad-David and Arba-Hakuei will be _awesome_ for sure. I bet Alibaba, Kougyoku and co. have to break into some strange facilities with super-monsters and experiments to get their djinn weapons back. Or maybe fight through Al-Thamen, controlled by the depraved duo (or quartet if you count the other souls) before the world goes down in flames. With the power of the zombie soldiers of Kou!** _  
_

 **What do you think will happen? I'd love to hear about your conspiracy theories :D**

 **Anyway, before I start fangirling, a huge thank you and virtual brownies and chocolate easter eggs to you fabulous persons who favorited Second Chance or follows it, and to the Reviewers!**

 **Maester Ta: No, the last chapter Lenka read before being transported through the dimensions was chapter 260 (see the first chapter for details). So she doesn't know about Sinbad's connection, nor the war on the Kanan plains. She hasn't read The Adventures of Sinbad either. But I know, and I will use this to my advantage, mwahahaha!... ehe.**

 **jankitty13: Basically the same as in the manga, but with more of angry sulking and muttering. And then he dragged Hakuryuu into the dungeon, hoping he could kill something there. But Judar will be back for the summit and general mischief.**

 **Kankri: You are back! Thank you very much!**

 **Guest: I love the word awesome :D Thank you!**

 **I will be back for more...**

 **Yours,**

 **TheMultipleMeExperience**


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